Sen. Nicole Poore represents the 12th Senate District, which includes most of New Castle and Bear, all of
Delaware City and communities south of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, including Whitehall,
Bayberry and others.

Raised in New Castle’s Jefferson Farms community, Sen. Poore graduated from St. Elizabeth’s High
School in 1990 and later earned an associate degree in criminal justice from Delaware Technical
Community College and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Wilmington University.
She joined her brother in building a successful healthcare staffing startup that was later sold to Welsch
Carson, one of the largest investment firms in the United States. Sen. Poore then became a senior client
services manager for Agile 1, where she handled workforce solutions for the DuPont Co. She also served
as a member of the Delaware Juvenile Justice Advisory Board, volunteered the Rape Crisis Center and
served as Exceptional Care for Children’s director of development. She is currently the president of Jobs
for Delaware Graduates, a nonprofit that helps students connect with sustainable, skills-based career
opportunities.
Sen. Poore’s interest in government policy began after the birth of her oldest son Nicholas, who was
diagnosed cerebral palsy. Her activism in the special-needs community led to a successful 2012 bid for
state Senate. Following her unchallenged bid for reelection in 2016, Sen. Poore was selected to serve as
Senate Majority Whip by her peers. She then served as Senate Majority Leader from 2019 to 2021.
Sen. Poore currently chairs the Joint Capital Improvement Committee and serves as vice chair of both the
Senate Health & Social Services Committee and the Senate Labor Committee. She also sits on the Senate
Elections & Government Affairs Committee.
Sen. Poore serves as a member of the Human Trafficking Interagency Coordinating Council, the
Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, the Utilities Coordination Council and the Riverfront
Development Corporation.
She and her husband Billy live in New Castle with their three children.