In her role as Director of the Office of Economic Development, Nanci is responsible for facilitating job growth, revenue growth, housing growth, and investment in San Jose through strategy, persistence, collaboration, and creativity. She oversees a staff of 50+ employees with core service areas in Business Development, Regional Workforce Development, Real Estate Services, Cultural Affairs, and Administration.
Until 2020, Nanci served as Assistant Director of Economic Development and the City’s Director of Real Estate. She led high-performing teams in three areas: Business Development, Real Estate, and Administration. She also managed an extensive personal portfolio of high-profile projects, including serving as lead negotiator of the Google Project Development Agreement and the City’s purchase of 900 acres in Coyote Valley—the largest conservation effort in South Bay history. Nanci is committed to advancing the City’s equity goals, ensuring quality job, training, and education opportunities support San Jose’s residents, particularly those who have not had access to resources.
Some of Nanci’s other accomplishments include serving as the City’s Project Manager for the San Pedro Square Market, the $300M Japantown Mixed-Use Development, the reimagination of the flagship IBM/Hitachi/Western Digital Property, development of the Coleman Highline project, and the $28M sale of the Hayes Mansion. She contributed to the development of Santana Row and Valley Fair; the attraction, negotiation, and development of the Samsung project in North San Jose; the development of the Earthquakes Stadium, and the expansion of Shark’s Ice. She also serves as the City’s principal representative to Shark’s Sports and Entertainment (SSE).
Nanci started her career with the City of San Jose as a Budget Analyst in the City Manager’s Budget Office. She then served as a Development Officer for the San Jose Redevelopment Agency where she negotiated and facilitated projects like the San Jose Museum of Art/Whitney Museum collaboration. Nanci went to the City of San Leandro as the Economic Development Manager and drove commercial and industrial development in addition to co-founding the “Sausage and Suds” festival. Nanci returned to the City’s Office of Economic Development in 1998, holding several positions in succession until she became the Assistant Director and Director of Real Estate.
Nanci holds a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences from the University of Michigan and a Master of Public Administration from San Jose State University. Nanci is a Fellow of the Rose Center for Public Leadership and an American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow and was selected by the Silicon Valley Business Journal as a “Women of Influence.”