Nicole Bourassa, Town of North Kingstown
Title: Principal Planner
Company: Town of North Kingstown
Location: Rhode Island
Birthplace: Fall River, Massachusetts
Family: Fiancé Chris and 2-year-old daughter Emma
College: UMass Amherst - BS in Environmental Science; Clemson University - Master of City and Regional Planning
First job unrelated to your current field: Lifeguard
First job in current field: Assistant planner in Needham, MA
What your firm does now and its plans for the future? The North Kingstown planning department is responsible for the long and short-range planning for the community. We assist the community in developing its vision for the future through innovative growth management practices.
Hobbies: Home renovation and interior design, reading
Favorite novel: Just finished "The Hunger Games" trilogy
Favorite film: "The Cutting Edge"
Keys to success: Self-education and perseverance. You really have to constantly be learning - whether from a book or just from day-to-day observation - to continue to grow and succeed.
Person you admire most (outside of family): Professionally I would say Jane Jacobs, as she had a fabulous understanding of the need to weave the social characteristics in a community with the built characteristics of a community.
If you had to choose a different profession, what would it be? I would be a psychologist.