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As the senior regional economist for North and South Carolina within the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Laura conducts regional economic research and serves as an on-the-ground check on the high-level economic models that often inform public policy. Laura’s research interests include higher education, workforce development, local and state level tax and expenditure analyses, welfare policy, and the economic impact of local development. She is well-engaged with many communities across the state and is known for her accessible and external facing communication. She has initiated a survey at the Fed concerning community college success metrics and has included three South Carolina Technical Colleges within the pilot. Prior to joining the Federal Reserve, Laura was Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs, a professor of economics and Assistant Dean for Innovation and Productivity at Winthrop University. Before graduate school, she worked as a business consultant for Ernst & Young, specializing in executive compensation determination. In 2014, she served as a Fulbright Scholar teaching economics in Kosovo and has spent considerable time working on local economic development issues in Bolivia. She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, the board of Family Promise of York County, the Catawba Regional Council of Governments,, the Carolina Immigrant Alliance, and the Winthrop Eagle Club.
Laura earned a PhD and Master of Arts from The University of Tennessee and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (summa cum laude) from the University of Georgia.
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