North Carolina State Senate, District 16 — serving since 2023. Senator Gale Adcock made history as the first advanced practice registered nurse elected to the North Carolina General Assembly and, later, the first nurse to serve in the state Senate. Her election to the Senate followed four terms in the North Carolina House of Representatives—but her path to public office began far from politics. Raised in a small textile town in rural southwest Virginia, Senator Adcock was the first in her family to attend college. After completing a diploma nursing program in 1975, she began her career at her community’s 150-bed hospital. She later earned her nursing degree from East Carolina University while working night shifts to pay tuition and, in 1987, completed her Master of Science in Nursing as a family nurse practitioner at UNC–Chapel Hill. Senator Adcock spent 26 years as chief health officer for SAS, leading an onsite clinic that served 14,000 employees and family members. Her record of public service includes serving as president of the North Carolina Nurses Association, as a member of the Cary Town Council, and through gubernatorial and legislative appointments to health policy commissions spanning three administrations. Known for working effectively across the aisle—a skill she credits to nursing—Senator Adcock also serves as adjunct faculty at five universities. Through teaching, mentorship, and public service, she shows the next generation of nurses and APRNs how clinical expertise can become a powerful force for policy change.