Laura is a real estate leader and educator serving as Executive Director of the Shenehon Center for Real Estate at the University of St. Thomas. At the Center, she leads efforts to connect industry practice, applied research, education and public policy across the real estate sector.

Prior to St. Thomas, she was Chief Real Estate Officer at Aeon, a major nonprofit affordable housing owner and developer in the Twin Cities. In that role, she oversaw property operations, housing development, and asset management for a large portfolio of affordable housing communities.

Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles with WinnCompanies, one of the nation’s largest managers of multifamily housing, and worked as a consultant advising nonprofit housing organizations across the country on portfolio strategy, asset management, and operational improvement. Laura holds a Master's degree in Housing and Economic Development from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Chicago. She is a Board Member at Twin Cities Housing Alliance, the Heller Hurwicz Economic Institute at the University of Minnesota and at HousingLink.