She completed her BSN with a minor in theology at Georgetown University in 2004. She spent a year at the NIH in the Oncology Nurse Research Fellowship program, working with both medical oncology and stem cell transplant patients. She then completed her MSN in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program with a minor in palliative care at the University of Pennsylvania in 2006. Since completing her MSN, Nicole as worked in primary care, acute, chronic, and interventional pain management, and palliative medicine. She is also certified as an advanced hospice and palliative care nurse. Nicole is currently living in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC with her husband, Dan, and 14-month-old son, Sebastian—the loves of her life.