Nicole is an environmental planning and stakeholder engagement specialist with more than 10 years of experience. She leads and implements community outreach, public involvement, and stakeholder engagement strategies with a strong focus on environmental work in the Puget Sound region. She also utilizes her environmental and research-based background, as well as experience in planning, design, and construction, to inform her creative and equitable approach to community engagement strategy.
What is your favorite ESA moment/memory so far?
The annual Halloween potluck and costume contest. The competition is tough!
What keeps you coming to work here at ESA every day?
I love the variety of exciting projects we work on. On any given day, I might be leading a communication and engagement strategy, synthesizing complex technical information for an environmental review document, facilitating a conversation with stakeholders, or being pulled in to help relocate fish for construction of a fish passage project.
What is your hidden or special talent(s)?
I am prone to coincidences – so much so that my friend gifted me a journal to document them. It’s a thrill to find unexpected connections with people. I’m always amazed at how small the world is and how interconnected we all are.
What’s your favorite thing to do when you are out of the office?
I enjoy gardening, outdoor adventures, trying new recipes, and traveling the world.
What are three skills that you bring to the ESA team? In other words, what should colleagues know to reach out to you about?
- Outreach strategies, tools, and techniques to share information about our projects with key partners and the public
- Helping our clients and affected parties we work with solve problems, make decisions, and define and achieve their goals
- Communication and writing
What’s been your favorite project to work on here at ESA and what impact did it have on the community and/or environment?
Traveling to Montana to facilitate collaboration among agencies, Tribal members and staff, firefighters, residents, and other key partners to develop a community wildfire protection plan. Our staff provided GIS expertise and ensured that the plan reflected community values, concerns, and priorities. It was especially memorable and empowering to work with an ESA team made up of all women!
