Gale was raised in a small town in southwestern Virginia. She understands the value of hard work and the opportunities that come from education. Her mother worked swing-shift in a local textile mill from high school graduation to retirement. Gale attended local public schools, played flute in the high school band, worked for minimum wage at the local public library and volunteered as a Candystriper at her hometown community hospital.
Gale obtained a nursing diploma from Virginia Baptist Hospital and then worked as an RN to pay for an undergraduate degree in nursing from ECU and a Master’s of Science in Nursing from UNC-Chapel Hill.
She has been a nurse practitioner since 1987 and was Chief Health Officer at SAS Institute for 26 years before retiring in October 2020.
Gale has been president of the North Carolina Nurses Association, chair of the North Carolina Center for Nursing and a member of the North Carolina Board of Nursing. She served on the board of the Taylor Family YMCA in Cary and on the state Diabetes Advisory Council. She is an adjunct faculty member at Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, East Carolina and Case Western Reserve University. Prior to her 2014 election to the NC House, Gale was a gubernatorial appointee to the Legislative Study Commission on Access to Health Insurance and the Blue Ribbon Task Force on the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees. She is one of two legislators on the State Health Coordinating Council that submits the annual State Medical Facilities Plan.
During her terms in the NC House, Gale has proved to be a commonsense leader who works effectively with members of both parties. She has been a primary sponsor of dozens of bipartisan bills that have become law. Prior to serving in the NC General Assembly, she was a 2007-2014 member of the Cary Town Council and was elected by her Council peers to be mayor pro tem during her last 3 years. As a Council member, Gale voted for investments in infrastructure, maintenance of the town’s AAA bond rating and passage of annual budgets that kept Cary with the lowest property tax rate in Wake County.
Gale and her family live in Cary. They are members of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church.
Gale has a solid track record of service in business, government, her profession, and her community.