Nancy W. Ware

Nancy W. Ware is President of WPS Management Company and founder of EduKids, Inc., Western New York’s largest privately owned group of childcare centers.

As President of EduKids from 1989 to 2020, Ms. Ware was responsible for strategic planning, facility management and operations for the Nationally Accredited Child Care Centers, including the corporate on-site Center at Rich Products World Headquarters in Buffalo.

Ms. Ware grew up in South Buffalo and now lives in Orchard Park. She is a graduate of Canisius College, where she earned her MBA. In 1989, she was an HR director and needed to find childcare for her son. She discovered many facilities offered care, but provided no education for children; Ms. Ware combined her business skills with her friend’s education skills – and EduKids was born.

EduKids is the largest woman-owned business in the region and maintains a staff of over 400 employees, currently serving more than 2,000 families in the Buffalo area.

Ms. Ware is an active member in her community, serves on several boards and organizations, and was the first woman to sit on the Evans Bancorp Inc. Board of Directors. She serves on the Canisius College Board of Trustees, where she holds emeritus status, and is Vice Chair of Explore and More Children's Museum Board of Trustees.

Ms. Ware is Secretary on the Catholic Health Board of Directors, Board Member of the Buffalo Zoo, and recently joined the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, which is committed to helping individuals, families and organizations make their charitable goals a reality.

For her advocacy and commitment to community, Ms. Ware has been recognized, on numerous occasions, on the Buffalo Business First annual list of powerful individuals in Western New York.