Laura has worked as a field biologist, consultant, and land manager in the southwestern U.S. and abroad since 2000, specializing in ecological research, restoration, and biological mitigation. She has a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Agroecology from the University of California Santa Cruz, and a M.S. in Aridland Ecology and Management from the University of Arizona. Prior to joining the VLT team she managed the stewardship and restoration efforts of the Tejon Ranch Conservancy in Kern County and the Santa Clara River Conservancy in Ventura County. She is eager to support the scientific foundation of land management and natural resource monitoring in VLT's wildland preserves. 

Learning about, sharing, and supporting the complex wonders of ecological systems is her life's passion and she may ask you too many questions, capture your imagination with juicy stories about the natural world, pull invasive plants from your sidewalk or trail, or likely all three.

While marveling about the wild world and our place in it, she also enjoys reveling in the art of fermentation, exploring natural and cultural landscapes, creating music, loving her beloveds, working in her garden, and deep diving down intellectual backroads.