The Human Behind the Voice
I was a child that hypnotized chickens.
I’m including that here because it’s both absurd and completely true.
I’m Irish & Italian with a Chinese middle name.
Nicole means “victory of the people.”
Lu means “road” or “journey.”
So my name means Victory Road.
I’m not entirely sure if my name fits who I was born to be, or if I’ve spent my life nurturing my path to live up to the honor of it.
Either way, it feels like a good road to be on.
I was raised in New England and live in the Pacific Northwest.
One of the things I love about living here is that I can be on a trailhead twenty minutes after leaving my front door.
Nature is where I reset.
The ocean and the trees remind me of something simple:
My body is the one vehicle I have for my soul, and I try to take care of it inside and out.
I come from tough stock.
My dad was raised during the Depression and carried a work ethic that never left him.
My mom was one of twelve kids and lost her father when she was nine.
If there’s one thing I inherited from them, it’s grit — and the belief that you show up, you work hard, and you take care of your people.
I’m a single mom raising two incredible young men.
One is my mellow.
One is my fire.
Together they’re the two halves that make me whole.
And I don’t take it lightly that I brought two white men into the world.
That reality comes with responsibility.
My job as their mom is to make sure they understand that power isn’t something you use to get ahead of others — it’s something you use to lift people up.
I live in the middle of generations.
I’m raising my kids and close to my mother (nod to my pop who has passed.) I show up for the older generations in my village.
There are also always a handful of my kids’ friends in and out of the house.
I take that seriously.
I treat them with the same respect I would give my peers or someone older. I want them to feel heard. It’s an honor to guide them, to be someone they can look to, and to show them what that looks like in real life.
I listen to the stories of those who came before me, and I’m in the thick of guiding the ones coming up behind me.
Where I stand in that multi-generational perspective has shown me what matters to people and how to say things in a way that feels real to them, regardless of age.
I’m a big believer in “like attracts like”.
Shine your light bright and you’ll attract your people.
And when someone misses the mark, lead with empathy first but also know when it’s time to step back.
I’m a boots-on-the-ground kind of woman.
Justice matters to me. A lot.
I believe in the core principles of human rights.
I believe people should have the right to make decisions about their own bodies.
I believe no one should have to struggle just to receive healthcare.
When I see injustice, I feel it in my bones.
I’m warm and loving when it counts.
And I’m fierce and fiery when it matters.
At the end of the day, I try to live by a few simple ideas.
✻ What you do makes a difference.
✻ You either win or you learn.
✻ Life is meant to be used up for something that matters.
✻ And no matter what storm rolls through…
You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.
So that’s me.
☆ A woman.
☆ A mom.
☆ A friend.
☆ A community builder.
☆ A believer in purpose.
And a human who just happens to make a living behind a microphone.