Nancy Kirby

Nancy Kirby is former Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of IncubatorWorks in Painted Post, New York. During her nine-year tenure, and before her retirement last June, she guided the emergence of this exciting and highly successful Southern Tier economic development agency into a regional leader in the growth of small business entrepreneurship.

Under Ms. Kirby’s direction, influence, and decades of experience as a financial professional, she mentored many small businesses that still operate and thrive across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions. IncubatorWorks developed an impressive array of business and scientific resources to partner with local industry, academia, and other economic development agencies, offering training and support for regional entrepreneurs with a focus on serving diverse and underserved communities.

Having operated a local accounting firm for 26 years, Ms. Kirby credits that experience, as well as her decades of volunteering and mentoring, for the collaboration, leadership, teamwork and vision that define her lifelong work and career at IncubatorWorks.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, IncubatorWorks led efforts to assist small businesses access pandemic-related funding and helped them survive this era of extended and severe economic shutdowns. Additionally, the agency became a key resource in assisting many local businesses obtain Minority and Woman-Owned Business certifications.

Ms. Kirby has long served local communities in a variety of capacities including, in recent years, as a member of the board of directors for numerous organizations like the Chemung Schuyler Steuben Workforce, REDEC, Corning PRIDE, and the Southeast Steuben County Library. She currently serves as Town Supervisor in Caton, Steuben County and continues to operate as “Entrepreneur in Residence” at IncubatorWorks.