Laura is the founding Executive Director of Lynchburg Beacon of Hope. 

As the idea for Beacon of Hope originated, she came on board to help build the model. She was tasked with building the structure, focus, and 501(c)3 organization status of Beacon of Hope. She naturally merged into the Executive Director as Beacon of Hope launched our Future Centers in 2012. 

Laura spent decades in public policy work, both in Lynchburg and the District of Columbia. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from the College of William and Mary and her Master’s degree in Public Policy (MPP) from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.  Laura served the Clinton Administration as a budget and policy liaison for the DC Budget and the Defense and Energy policy at the Office of Management and Budget.  She also worked as Development Director for Discovery Creek Children’s Museum/The Children’s Museum of Washington.  In addition, her strength in recent years has been cultivating the public/nonprofit partnership that has evolved between Lynchburg City Schools and the Beacon of Hope, including a strategic vision for the first Promise Program in Virginia.

In 2008, Laura was named as the top 20 change-makers in Lynchburg under the age of 40.  She’s a visual-rated private pilot and drives a 40-foot RV.