Laura serves as the Project Director for the GEAR UP for LIFE grant, in partnership with 27 schools across the state of Oklahoma. Laura has worked with two of the K20 Center’s previous GEAR UP grants since 2012 – the 2011 GEAR UP for the PROMISE project and the 2018 GEAR UP O+K=C project. Prior to her work with GEAR UP, Laura served as the Alternative Education Director for the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Laura is a lifelong Oklahoman and has devoted her professional career to work in juvenile justice, child welfare, public education, and college access. She currently resides in a rural community with her husband, Brad, a high school principal. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren, gardening, and taking care of the animals on the Buxton homestead.