Nicholas Oliver

Nicholas Anthony Oliver (born May 20, 1979) is an American lobbyist, a leading activist in the fight for Rhode Island's anti-smoking laws. He has worked for several organizations including the American Heart Association and the Massachusetts Association of 766 Approved Private Schools. He briefly worked for W. Mitt Romney when he served as Governor of Massachusetts.

Personal life

Oliver was born in East Providence, Rhode Island to Rosemary (sur Perry) and Anthony Oliver. His mother, Rosemary, was a certified nurse assistant, now a special education assistant teacher, and his father, Anthony, is an electrical engineer. He has one sister, Heather born in 1984. Oliver spent his childhood and youth in East Providence and graduated from East Providence Senior High School in 1997.

In 1997, Oliver left Rhode Island to attend the University of Hartford in West Hartford, Connecticut, where he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Political Economy and Public Relations in 2000, and later received a masters degree in Public Affairs from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 2008. On July 9, 2005, Oliver married Emily Catherine Burtt in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. They now live in Beverly with their daughter, Micaela Ashlynne. Oliver and his wife are expecting their second child in early 2009.

Career

After graduating from Hartford, Oliver joined the American Heart Association and became one of the first state directors within the organization to found the association's advocacy entity. Initially working on the legal issues of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), such as Good Samaritan Protections, Oliver quickly moved on to building a base of supporters from multiple organizations and individuals for fighting to increase the state's tobacco excise tax and to create significant structure changes to the Rhode Island smoking freedoms law. On March 1, 2005, Rhode Island became one of the first states to ban smoking in all public places, making the state's law still the strictest smoke-free worksite law in the country.

Oliver moved on to work for Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney shortly thereafter assess environmental policy, including creating grant incentives help hospitals across Massachusetts to recycle and be more responsible in handling biomedical waste. He also oversaw the state's bottle deposit program and investigated corporate beverage producers who violated state law.

Just before the end of the Romney administration, Oliver left to work for the Massachusetts Association of 766 Approved Private Schools (MAAPS), which represents all special education schools that serve Massachusetts children with severe disabilities

References

• Celebrating Healthcare Improvements in Rhode Island: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4100/is_200412/ai_n9467809
• Smokefree Zone: http://www.health.state.ri.us/tobacco/SmokeFreeZone1004.pdf
• Clean Air News: http://www.environmentrhodeisland.org/newsroom/clean-air-news/clean-air-news/governor-carcieri-hits-a-home-run-for-air-quality-in-rhode-island-public-health-and-environmental-groups-applaud-* decision-to-adopt-clean-cars-standard
• RI Senate Journal on Stroke Awareness: http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Journals01/SenateJournals01/SJournal5-22.htm
• RI House Journal on Stroke Awareness: http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText01/HouseText01/H6513.htm
• RI Physical Education Framework: http://www.thriveri.org/documents/RI_PE_Framework.pdf
• Clean Cars, Cleaner Air: http://ripirg.org/RI.asp?id2=13235&id3=RI&
• Tobacco Prevention: http://www.tobaccoprevention.net/resources_august04.htm
• Wedding Announcement - Providence Journal: http://www.projo.com/cgi-bin/weddings/view.cgi?id=5230
• Special Education Matters: http://www.spedschools.com/SpEdMatters/
• Sigma Nu News: http://www.sigmanu.org/news/news.php

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Name	Oliver, Nicholas
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Date of birth	May 20, 1979
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