When the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator (KSTI) opened its doors last spring, resident companies knew who to ask about everything: business development assistant Aubrey Nawrocki. After guiding the incubator in its growth from just two residents last June to 39 this month, Nawrocki has stepped down from her position to rejoin Team World, a local promotional products company.
As business development assistant, Nawrocki had a wide range of responsibilities, serving as the main point of contact for start-ups. She also monitored client agreements, coordinated incubator events, tracked invoices and updated the incubator’s website, among other duties.
Shannon Fallon, social community manager for Key Branding Labs, worked with Aubrey on social media campaigns for the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator. Fallon said part of the reason the incubator got off the ground so quickly was Aubrey’s constant hard work.
“She was always a very warm and inviting presence and super helpful with anything that businesses ever needed,” Fallon said. “She was a wealth of knowledge for people.”
Nawrocki, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer design from SUNY Oneonta, contributed strong skills in graphic design, marketing and photography. Outside the office, she’s owned her own photography business, Nawrocki Photography, for over five years.
In addition to her main responsibilities, Aubrey took on a number of “passion projects,” as she called them. One project included organizing a number of events for female entrepreneurs, most recently a Galentine’s Mixer, which brought together local female entrepreneurs for an evening of networking at Galaxy Brewing Company.
“The goal is to build a more supportive ecosystem for female entrepreneurs,” Nawrocki said. “A lot of mixers we have are attended mainly by males. Having a place where women can get together, their experience is completely different.”
Aubrey was a great role model for those looking to develop themselves professionally, her coworkers said.
“If she was asked to do something, she got it done and made sure it was done correctly,” said Robert Gordon, the facilities coordinator at KSTI. “She showed me the ropes on how to be more of a young professional and how to balance my time.”
Though she’ll no longer be in the building, Aubrey is interested in seeing how the incubator and the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships continue to grow.
“It was a tough position to walk away from,” she said. “I’ll be looking back to see what’s going on here and how everything’s changing.”
Applications are currently being accepted and a search committee will fill the business development assistant position in the coming months. The deadline for applicants internal to Binghamton University is March 5; external applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
By Camila Araujo
