A corporate and non-profit board member and adviser, Laura has more than two decades of executive level experience in public policy, communications, corporate governance, and stakeholder engagement in the public, private and non-profit sectors. As the Principal-in-Charge of Government, Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy for global professional services and accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, Laura spent a decade on the executive management team of PwC and almost 12 years managing PwC’s public policy engagement strategy, which coordinates public policy strategies across the more than 150 countries in which PwC operates. She has also advised a broad range of c-suite level clients, and has significant experience building coalitions and partnerships to advance issues and policies.

Laura created the integrated public policy strategy that PwC employs today, as well as the firm’s political engagement strategy that aims to increase diversity in public policy and elected office. She also created and cultivated unique partnerships with NGOs to further PwC’s efforts in the women’s political engagement space. The Public Policy Intern Leaders program and curriculum she developed at PwC is recognized for combining the latest thinking in public policy and political engagement with PwC’s approach to leadership development. Laura also led and served in senior leadership positions at the American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) and the Center for Audit Quality.  (Laura was instrumental in helping to create the CAQ including working to help ensure that independent investor interests were reflected on the organization’s board).

Through unique partnerships she has created using her experience in government, politics, and business, Laura advises and works closely with several non-profit organizations (NGOs) on women’s political engagement, leadership and empowerment. More recently, Laura’s focus has been on how to better engage the private sector in longer-term efforts aimed at closing the gender gap in elected office, with particular attention to the talent pipeline, collaborations with partners in the private, public and non-profit space who are looking to address the various drivers that contribute to the lack of diversity in congress. Her work includes efforts to increase awareness about the importance of public service as a component of leadership, personal and professional development.

Laura is an accomplished speaker and author lending her unique public and private sector experiences, perspective, and voice to a range of topics including: personal and professional development, innovative approaches to public policy engagement, building and inspiring diversified teams, women’s career development and leadership, and creating your own personal brand. She employs the latest social media tools to increase engagement on these and other topics.

Laura writes a regular blog and has been published in Fortune Magazine, The Huffington Post, World Economic Forum Blog, among others, and speaks before a range of audiences from c-suite executives and corporate boards to students and community leaders. She is especially focused on inspiring and motivating the next generation to pursue experiences and careers in public policy and civic engagement.

Prior to joining PwC, Laura served in senior positions at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where she focused on the legislative and regulatory response to corporate governance and accounting failures in the late 1990s, and on the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. She spent almost 10 years on Capitol Hill as a senior communications strategist.

In addition to her corporate board directorships at CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP) and at The Hunt Companies, Laura consults with and serves on a number of non-profit boards including: Running Start, All in Together, Empowered Women, American Council on Germany, and Value in Electing Women PAC. She is also a past Board Chair of Global Women in Innovation. She serves on an advisory committee at the Bush School of Government & Public Policy at Texas A&M University, the National Women’s History Museum’s Development Committee, and supports development and fundraising efforts at her children’s school.  In 2016, Laura served as a Global Ambassador for Vital Voices. She also served on the Launch Committee for Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” Foundation.

In 2016, Laura received the Alice Paul Alumnae award from American University for her work on women’s political engagement. In 2015, Laura was named one of Washingtonian Magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington. In 2014, Laura received a “Trailblazer Award” from the American Law Journal for her work in public and regulatory policy.

Laura received a Master’s degree from American University in Washington, D.C. and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas in Austin. Laura and her husband Joel live with their son and daughter in Washington, D.C.

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