COMMUNITY SERVICE IS KEY FOR PBSO CAPT. NICHOLE ADDAZIO BY PATRICK SHERRY
At age 14, Capt. Nichole Addazio’s family moved to Wellington because of its safe neighborhoods and strong public schools. Now, decades later, Addazio has become one of the top local leaders in charge of ensuring the safety of the same community that she spent her teenage years in. Since 1998, Addazio has been serving the residents of Palm Beach County as part of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO). Before joining the agency, she attended Welling18 May 2026 | WELLINGTON THE MAGAZINE
ton High School. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she started working for the PBSO and decided to attend the police academy soon after graduating. “As I was working [at the PBSO] and studying criminology, it further piqued my interest in the field,” Addazio said. Recruited as a cadet, Addazio worked her way up the ranks at the sheriff’s office. Through the years, she worked as a road patrol deputy, a detective for several different teams, a
special victims unit trainer, a watch commander and an executive officer in two PBSO districts. In 2023, when former Capt. Rolando Silva retired, Addazio was promoted to captain at PBSO District 8, serving the village she used to call home, Wellington. Addazio explained that part of the reason she was selected was because of her history in the community. “To come back and be able to lead a group of men and women in law en-