Nicole Pashek spent summers in The Dalles working at Pashek's Gardens. She attended State College Area High School in central Pennsylvania. She graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelors Degree in Nursing. Following graduation she worked in an intensive care unit for four years. She moved to Seattle to attend University of Washington and obtained a Masters Degree in Nursing, specializing in cardiovascular health. She studied geriatric and adult primary care for her licence as an ARNP. She worked fourteen years for University of Washington and Harborview Medical Center under the division of Geriatric Medicine on development of a Long Term Care team that eventually became the largest in King County, Washington.
She is thankful to have moved back to The Dalles, an area that has always been close to her heart. She has three children, two at home (think soccer mom) and two Boston terriers.