Nicole Pietrandrea Hough

Founder & Editor-in-chief

Nicole Pietrandrea Hough is the Founder and Editor-in-chief of AFTER Alcohol-Free Magazine and of MocktailQuest.com, a search engine for all things alcohol-free. In 2020, upon finally realizing that drinking alcohol was not leading to the life she wanted to create, Nicole set out on a journey to figure out what things would look like alcohol-free. While challenging at first, Nicole eventually discovered that her new AF life held more beauty, depth, and joy than she ever imagined. This joy—plus the amazing stories of the many people Nicole met in the alcohol-free community, both online and in person—inspired the creation of AFTER Magazine in 2022. The magazine’s mission is threefold: 1) to support anyone who might be searching for answers around their drinking and feeling alone, 2) to normalize sobriety and an alcohol-free lifestyle, and 3) to show just how amazing life can be AFTER giving up alcohol.

Nicole holds an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, a B.A. in Economics and International Relations from Bucknell University, and a bartending certificate from the New York Bartending School. Nicole lives in northern NJ with her two almost-grown children and their dog Sadie.