Nancy began her career working as a chemist at an oil refinery and then a power company. She became involved in regulatory and environmental affairs at her workplace, and soon after, left the laboratory entirely to become a lobbyist. She served as the Health and Energy Policy Director for the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, and subsequently became a contract lobbyist at a large Minneapolis law firm. She attended law school at William Mitchell College of Law, and then clerked for Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Russell Anderson. Nancy formed Hylden Advocacy & Law in 2016. Nancy spends her free time painting in her art studio.