Michael J. Nicholson ’16, ’17 MPP

Michael J. Nicholson is the mayor of Gardner, Massachusetts. Nicholson, the city’s first Hispanic/Latin American elected official, is serving his third term as mayor, following a special election in 2020. During his first term, he oversaw Gardner’s COVID-19 pandemic response, which included the city’s own vaccine clinic, secured several million dollars in grant funding, broke ground on Gardner’s first dedicated elementary school, and invested more in the city’s infrastructure, including major utility upgrades and an expansive downtown improvement project.

While still in high school, Nicholson began interning for then-mayor Mark Hawke, which kindled his interest in local government. He went on to attend the UMass Amherst, where he served as a drum major and trumpet player for the Minuteman Marching Band, a member of the board of the Newman Catholic Student Center, and a member of Phi Mu Alpha fraternity and the Phi Alpha Theta and Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Societies. He was also a Commonwealth Honors College Emerging Scholars Program member for first-generation and underrepresented students.   

Nicholson earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees cum laude in History and Political Science and two undergraduate certificates in International Relations and Public Administration at UMass. After completing his undergraduate career in three years, he participated in the one-year Accelerated Master of Public Policy degree program from the UMass School of Public Policy, earning his degree in 2017. As part of his graduate work, Nicholson was the first student from the School of Public Policy to be designated as a Beacon Hill Fellow, working in the office of former Senator Jennifer Flanagan, drafting his master's capstone on the implementation of online lottery products in Massachusetts. He later earned his Juris Doctor degree in 2021 through the Suffolk University Law School's Evening Division.

Throughout his time in office, Nicholson has his sights set on boosting economic development in Gardner, continuing to revitalize the downtown, expanding internet access for all residents, increasing educational opportunities for students, and improving access to public transportation. He is as a member of the Governor’s Transportation Funding Taskforce, and the Local Government Advisory Commission, as well as the Chair of the Montachusett Regional Transportation Authority.