Laura moved to Austin in 1981 when her husband, Phil Morrison, joined the faculty of the Physics department at the University of Texas. They raised their two sons, Will and Benny in Austin, where Laura was active in the community working on issues with people that represent many different perspectives.

Laura served as President of the Austin Neighborboods Council (ANC), and during her tenure the organization doubled in participating member associations, encompassing neighborhoods from all over Austin. While ANC President, Laura also served on several city task forces and developed a reputation for coalition and consensus building as well as advocating for more openness in city government. She also served as the Co-Chair (and in other capacities) of the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association. The neighborhood was recently recognized by the American Planning Association as one of the 10 Great Neighborhoods in America, for its preservation of neighborhood character and diversity while supporting sustainability.

Her professional background is unique for a Council Member in that she brings a needed perspective that ensures decisions that are well informed and in the public’s best interest. As an engineer and project manager for Lockheed Martin, Laura supervised teams of engineers on projects for the U.S. Air Force and Portuguese Air Force. While with Lockheed Martin, she received a Program Improvement Award for her quality performance and an award for Outstanding Achievement in Science and Technology from the YWCA. Laura holds a Masters Degree in Mathematics from the University of California, San Diego and a Graduate Certificate in Community Preparedness and Disaster Management from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Laura’s professional background and experience gives her the needed expertise to lead our city. She believes that City budget work is a key to progress in Austin. Laura has been studying the City budget process over the past several months with an expert in that arena, and has also worked in regulatory compliance at the federal level.

Her more recent education in public health with a focus in community preparedness and disaster management, along with volunteer activity in the social service arena, is another important perspective that will help her make Austin a city that works for all of us. For fun, Laura loves to row on Lady Bird Lake and enjoys tap dancing. Her sons are now grown. Will is engaged to Minjia Qiu and is an engineer at E-Ride Inc in San Francisco. Benny is married to Dayna Kirk and is a musician in the Portland group March Fourth Marching Band which has performed locally at Antone’s.