Laura is a passionate champion of children from hard places and their families.
Laura is the Founder of FACTS4SafeFamilies (Foster and Adopted Child Teaching Supports) providing education, support and advocacy to improve understanding of adoptive and foster children and complex trauma. Through over 20 years of work with international adoption and parenting her own adopted children with special needs, she saw first hand the challenges that exist in getting the proper assessments and support in schools especially in the area of mental healthcare.
Laura is a strong advocate of attachment based interventions and adoption competency training to educators and school mental health support providers.
She is the Founder of Sequoia Family Ministries supporting adoptive families in Northern Illinois and serves on the Unique Abilities Advocacy Council (UAAC) for One Chance, Illinois, empowering families of unique learners in education.
With over a decade of experience in reading instruction in schools and private tutoring, she is a huge believer in doing what’s best for kids.
Laura and her husband Don have four daughters aged 31-16, including two from China, and they reside on the Northshore of Chicago.
