Laurie Carr is the national Chief Partnership & Regions Officer at an education nonprofit dedicated to empowering young people to build a more just, participatory, and inclusive democracy. In this role, she leads national and regional strategies to strengthen partnerships and expand impact across K–12 systems. With more than two decades of experience as an educator and leader, Laurie has served as Chief of Schools and Achievement in Orange County Schools, a School Support Officer in Guilford County Schools, and a School and District Transformation Coach with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, where she partnered with leadership teams to turn around the state’s lowest-performing schools. She began her career through Teach For America in Baton Rouge, later teaching in Switzerland and Colorado before serving as a principal in the Boston area. Laurie holds a BA in political science from the University at Buffalo, an EdM in school leadership from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, and will earn her EdS in educational leadership from Gardner-Webb University in December. She is a proud member of the LeveragED Foundation’s Collective and a recipient of multiple fellowships and awards. A passionate traveler, she has visited more than 30 countries on 5 continents, drawing on her global perspective to strengthen her allyship, equity lens, and commitment to changing outcomes for ALL children.