Nicole K. Gerard is an Army Reserve Veteran from Chester, WV. She spent 10 years in the reserves and did multiple deployments including Iraq and Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, despite being the rank of only SGT, she was Brigade Internment/Resettlement Operations Non-Commissioned Officer in charge. She completed multiple instructors and leadership courses and spent most of her career teaching when she wasn’t deployed to a combat zone. In her spare time, she mentored young female soldiers and taught self-defense classes to help females feel safer on base and more aware of their surroundings. She taught classes on the military biometrics system, non-lethal, lethal weapons, IED Defeat, leadership, and more.

When not on military orders, Nicole worked in federal law enforcement. She started her career in the Federal Prison System and eventually became a Federal Police Officer.

She previously volunteered at the Disability Action Center in Fairmont, WV, with young adults with disabilities. She helped teach various classes that would better prepare them for a more independent life.

Currently, Nicole is a full-time Horticulture student at West Virginia University. She volunteers with the non-profit Old Hemlock Foundation helping with a continent-wide collaborative program on monitoring avian productivity and survivorship. This program analyzes demographic data provided by the banding of birds to provide critical information on the ecology, conservation, and management of North American land birds and the factors responsible for changes in their populations.  She also volunteers with the non-profit Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia whose mission is to conserve the region’s wild birds through research, education, and rehabilitation. She is also a member of the Morgantown North Rotary Club and the American Legion.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, going scuba diving, kayaking, hiking with their dogs, bird watching, or anything else that gets them outside in nature.