Nicole Love Hendrickson was elected chairwoman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners in 2020, making her the first African American to hold this position. Prior to her election, she was the founding director of the Gwinnett Community Outreach program, under the leadership of former Chairman Charlotte Nash. In that role, Nicole was responsible for engaging diverse constituents in county government. She launched several community-based initiatives, including the Gwinnett 101 Citizens Academy and the Gwinnett Youth Commission. Before her tenure with the County, Nicole served as the associate director of the Gwinnett Coalition for Health and Human Services for eight years.

In addition to her primary functions as the county’s chief governing authority, Nicole is active on several local and statewide boards including the Atlanta Regional Commission, Metropolitan North Georgia Water District Board, Gwinnett Board of Health, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, United Way Gwinnett Community Board, and Aurora Theatre. Nicole is a proud member of the Rotary Club of Gwinnett County, having held the positions of secretary, treasurer, and public image chair.

Nicole is a 2010 graduate of Leadership Gwinnett, a 2016 graduate of the ARC’s Regional Leadership Institute, and a 2016 graduate of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber’s Cultivating Hispanic Leaders Institute.

Nicole has been recognized as Engineering Georgia’s 100 Most Influential Women in Georgia and Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Power 100: Most Influential Atlantans. She was the recipient of Congressman Hank Johnson’s Trailblazer Award, a recipient of the Gwinnett Chamber Public Service Award, and Georgia Trend named her one of the state’s top 40 under 40 in 2018.

Nicole earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Rhode Island and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Georgia. Although Nicole is a native of Rhode Island, she has called Gwinnett home since 2008. She currently resides in Lilburn with her husband and their son.