Laura extends our Jackson Spalding family to the West Coast, focusing on Orkin Commercial Services and Western Pest Services from San Francisco, California. Laura came to Jackson Spalding in 2011 after working for a year in New York on the “Free the Hikers” campaign, organized to raise awareness about three young Americans who were detained in Iran during a back-packing trip in Iraqi Kurdistan. This project thrust her into the international media limelight as she coordinated network television interviews, news conferences and publicity for the hikers’ families. The high-profile campaign led to freedom for all three of the hikers and reinforced Laura’s belief in the power of communications to influence change.

Before that she was a communications consultant for a bestselling author who penned “Live It, Love It, Earn It,” a financial-help book targeted to women. She also served as an intern at the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau where she interacted with travel journalists.

While Laura was born in Minnesota, she spent her middle and high school years in Athens, Ga., which means she never considered the thought of any other college but The University of Georgia. She graduated, cum laude, from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a major in Broadcast News and a minor in Anthropology. Her college career included field studies at The University of Technology in Sydney, Australia and Lincoln University in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she focused on eco-tourism.

Despite her far-flung travels, Laura’s favorite spot in the world is on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. Once an island resort operated by her grandparents, it is now “Camp Benson” (her maiden name) where her extended family gathers annually for rest and recreation.