Nicole Love Hendrickson

Nicole Love Hendrickson is the Chairwoman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, leading Georgia’s second-most populous county. Elected in 2020 as the first African American to hold this position, she was re-elected in 2024. As Chairwoman, she oversees the county’s $2.5 billion budget, formulates policies, and ensures Gwinnett’s exceptional services reach its nearly 1 million residents. Since taking office, Chairwoman Hendrickson has championed a more inclusive and thriving Gwinnett. She prioritized transportation by creating a new transit development plan and expanded affordable housing with an $18 million affordable housing fund. Under her leadership, Gwinnett launched the Entrepreneurship Center to empower small and minority businesses and expanded the Police Mental Health Collaboration co-responder program. She also became the first Chairperson to raise Gwinnett County’s minimum wage to $15 an hour, fostering economic security for workers. Beyond her governance role, Nicole serves on several national, state, and local boards, including Vice Chair of the National Association of Counties’ Large Urban County Caucus (LUCC) and the North Metro Water District Board. She is Treasurer of the Atlanta Regional Commission and serves on the boards of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Aurora Theatre. Nicole is also an active member of the Rotary Club of Gwinnett County and the Gwinnett Section of NCNW. Nicole is a graduate of Leadership Gwinnett, the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Regional Leadership Institute, and the Georgia Hispanic Chamber’s Cultivating Hispanic Leaders Institute. Her leadership has earned her recognition as one of Georgia Trend’s “Most Influential Georgians” (2021–2024), Engineering Georgia’s “100 Most Influential Women” (2021–2024), and Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “Power 100: Most Influential Atlantans.” In 2024, she received the University of Georgia School of Social Work Alumni of the Year Award, Congressman Hank Johnson’s Trailblazer Award, and the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce Public Service Award. Nicole earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Rhode Island and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Georgia. Though originally from Rhode Island, she has proudly called Gwinnett home since 2008 and lives in Lilburn with her husband and son.