Nicole LeBlanc Charlwood was raised in urban and rural Ontario, is of English and Acadian heritage and graduated high school with a French immersion certificate. Upon moving to the Kootenays in 2001, she married her husband Chris, and they became parents.
She chose to study Economics because of her interest in people’s behaviours and curiosity about how they organize themselves around the different aspects of their lives. She graduated with honours from the University of Waterloo.
Her degree in Economics led to her working with the Ministries of Education and Industry, Trade and Technology. She then moved into the private sector, working as an underwriter for Manulife Financial and an ISO 9001-trained project manager in complex information systems for CGI Inc. and Organic Inc.
Nicole’s next phase of work as an independent travel and tour operator brought her to the Kootenays twenty years ago. While raising her young children, she managed a guest house.
In 2012, she joined the BC Greens and became the local campaign manager for a decade. She continued her advocacy work, including serving as Executive Director at the West Kootenay EcoSociety, as an Elections Canada Finance Officer and most recently as Executive Director of the newly formed West Kootenay Watershed Collaborative.
Nicole is dedicated to serving her community through volunteering on various boards of directors and is a driver for seniors. Nicole’s grandparents instilled in her the values of living in harmony with the land, bird watching, fishing, hunting and foraging. Her parents taught her the importance of participating in the electoral process to bring change and find meaningful work.
At thirteen, Nicole served as a young Page in the legislature. Since then, she has been gaining valuable experience and preparing for her role as your next MLA.