Nancy B. Jackson was born in Wisconsin, and her family moved a few times during her childhood. Jackson spent much of her teenage years in St. Louis, Missouri. Both of her parents were United Church of Christ ministers. Her grandfather was Native American (Seneca) and grew up on the Cattaraugus reservation in New York. Jackson was originally interested in politics and worked on Capitol Hill before and while attending George Washington University, but Theodore P. Perros (1921-2014) convinced her that a chemistry degree would be more impactful in environmental and Native American causes. After graduation, she worked in education at the American Chemical Society (ACS) for several years. Next, she returned to graduate school, earning an MS and Ph.D. in chemical engineering, which she regards as being a sort of applied chemistry, at the University of Texas in Austin, working with John G. Ekerdt. There she met and eventually married James Miller, also a chemical engineer, and the couple accepted jobs at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Jackson did her Ph.D. and began her career in the field of catalysis and was soon joined by her husband in that area. When Nancy and her husband had twin sons, Jackson worked part-time for a few years shifting her focus to collaboration, building the program, and supporting it through fundraising activities. Concurrently, she undertook educational outreach activities to underrepresented minorities and assumed tribal government relations responsibilities. She eventually moved on from catalysis to manage a group that specialized in chemometrics. From there Jackson became deputy director of the nonproliferation group under Dori [Doris E.] Ellis. After a management reshuffle, Jackson found her footing by working with the US Department of State to found the Chemical Security Engagement Program (CSP) and within Sandia to found and manage the International Chemical Threat Reduction Department. Jackson also began actively attempting to improve the working environment for women at Sandia and to make it more equitable; she became head of the Sandia Women’s Action Network (SWAN). The CSP program undertook the task of educating and assisting chemists in industry and academia with safety and security, first in developing countries in Southeast Asia; then the Middle East; now in Africa. This work entailed an understanding of the difference in countries, labs, products, goals, and problems; sometimes this meant risk-based safety assessments and follow-ups. During this time, Jackson gave talks in different countries about border security and other topics of interest.

Throughout graduate school and her professional career, Nancy was very active in the American Chemical Society (ACS) serving on and chairing many committees and participating in ACS governance. In 2008 she was asked to run for President-elect of the Society. In 2009, while in Jordan, she was notified that she had won the election and would begin serving as President-elect in 2010. She was especially excited because her Presidential year would be the International Year of Chemistry, 2011. During her Presidency, she hopes to expand the influence and reach of ACS internationally and make the resources more universally available. Relying on stories and relationships—a characteristic of her Native American heritage—Jackson wants to improve communications with the public. She feels that the U.S. is losing its leadership in science and thinks that more education and research in science are needed. She is delighted to be the first Native American President of ACS, and she looks forward to promoting more Native Americans through the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES).