Meet Your Senator

Sen. Nicole Poore represents the 12th Senate District, which includes most of New Castle and Bear, all of Delaware City and Port Penn, as well as 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 and a master’s degree in organizational leadership, both 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. 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 serves as chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, vice chair of the Senate Health & Social Services Committee and a member of the Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology, Corrections & Public Safety and Labor committees. She also holds a seat on the Joint Capital Improvement Committee.

Sen. Poore also continues to serve as a member of the Human Trafficking Interagency Coordinating Council, the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and the Utilities Coordination Council.

She and her husband Billy live in New Castle with their three children.