Wilson excels in her fast-forward career

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When Nancy Wilson decided to back to school, she put her nose to the grindstone and went non-stop for five years. All in one go, she found herself earning her undergraduate degree, master’s in accounting and a law degree.

“It was not a traditional student’s experience,” Wilson said. “I had a mission, and I did an 18-credit summer in law school. I was determined to get through it as quickly as I could.”

Wilson, a partner and tax and corporate attorney at Axley Brynelson’s Waukesha office, says she felt a need to speed things up. Having spent a decade in the manufacturing industry, she was 30 years old when she decided to go back to school.

“It was about 95 percent men when I went in,” she said. “So when I went into law I didn’t find the field at all extreme.”

Before choosing the law, Wilson had a series of manufacturing jobs ranging from machine operator to vice president. She cut her teeth in accounting when her employer’s bookkeeper quit and she was elected to step into that role.

Those experiences have given her a different perspective.

“It’s given me the ability to, when working with companies, give some owners some insight into how workers are probably feeling and be respectful of workers and manage the transaction without causing unnecessary alarm or stress to the company as a whole,” Wilson said. “It really taught me how to work on a team.”

What makes Wilson stand out both professionally and personally is the way she handles adversity, says Sharon Manlick, operations manager at Axley’s Waukesha office.

“I admire her,” Manlick said. “I just love her perspective on life. She is just an incredible person.”

Manlick got to know Wilson when Wilson first started at Axley. That was around the same time Wilson was caring for her parents, who both died two years ago, just three months apart.

“What got me through that was that my parents really taught us how to look at life in a humorous manner versus being overwhelmed by the seriousness of it,” Wilson said.

Manlick says she is in awe of Wilson’s ability to care for her parents and grieve while continuing to meet with clients and help colleagues.

“She always made time for everyone, and she still does,” Manlick said. “Her plate is always full but you would never feel that you are a bother to her. She will always make time for you.”