Nicole Paquette, Chief Impact Officer, U.S. and Canada, Humane World for Animals
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Nicole Paquette JD’98

Titles

  • Chief Impact Officer, U.S. and Canada, Humane World for Animals

Degrees

  • JD, Vermont Law and Graduate School
  • BA, San Francisco State University

Biography

Nicole Paquette serves as chief impact officer for Humane World for Animals, leading transformative change for animals across the United States and Canada. She leads the vision, development and execution of innovative strategies, high-impact programs, and policy reforms that deliver lasting protections for animals.

A recognized leader with more than three decades in the animal protection movement, Nicole joined the organization in 2010. As senior state director in Texas, she strengthened state cockfighting laws, enacted landmark legislation regulating puppy mill breeding facilities and enhanced the state’s cost of animal care law. She later served as vice president of wildlife protection, leading efforts to end trophy hunting, promote non-lethal solutions for human-wildlife conflicts, eliminate the fur trade, and secure critical protections restricting private ownership and exhibition of exotic animals in the country.

Previously, Nicole spent more than a decade at Born Free USA as senior vice president and general counsel. She holds a juris doctor from Vermont Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from San Francisco State University. She has lectured, testified, and presented on animal law and policy at law schools, state and local legislatures, and conferences all across the country. She serves on the Boards of the Public Affairs Council, Animal Place, and is Board Chair of the Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust. She resides in St. Petersburg, Florida, with her husband and their rescue pets, Tilly (cat) and Ruthie (dog).

Expertise

  • Animal Law

Departments

  • Summer Session