Laura Bentzen Email & Phone Number

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

In this role, I served as:• A strategic director/advisor, working to guide and inform internal workstreams and decision-making, thereby ensuring that leadership, members, and initiatives were well aligned with each other as well as with the Network’s policies, values, and guiding principles;• A project manager, who carefully planned to ensure that all projects, initiatives, and campaigns undertaken by the Network were well positioned for success;• A worker bee, actually serving as the Network’s infrastructure and doing the daily and long-term work that was needed to gain forward momentum and progress;• A primary point of contact, for all Network members and external partners; and• Well-versed in various aspects of the environmental movement, including but not limited to, key issues, terminology, players, congressional and administrative actions, and historical context.In this role, I was:• Responsible for strategic planning, operations, budgeting, fundraising and grant writing, meeting planning, and special projects for the Network;• Drafting, updating, and managing the adoption of key Network policies and foundational documents;• Tracking multiple project deadlines and milestones to ensure timelines were met in accordance with budget parameters;• Designing, planning, and implementing member virtual engagement and collaboration opportunities;• Facilitating the design and implementation of various Network projects, based on member organizational input;• Creating and disseminating a monthly newsletter to members with relevant updates around Network activities, key dates, and upcoming meetings; and• Planning, coordinating, and conducting all logistical and administrative arrangements for meetings, including travel arrangements (for when in person meetings resumed), development of agendas, speaker rosters, minutes preparation and dissemination.

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

From the project’s inception, I worked alongside a small, core group of environmental nonprofit CEOs to design, build, and launch a new national environmental leadership network (first referred to as New Network) that aimed to be more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and just. I authored and/or co-authored dozens of foundational documents, including proposals, memos, project plans, trackers, timelines, budgets, etc., which shaped the design of the network and led to the launch and invitation of nearly 80 organizations in 12/2020. I co-authored 9 foundation grant narratives and budgets that awarded ~$1 million to fund various stages of the project. And I facilitated the hiring and management of multiple consultants that resulted in the production of two key data-driven reports.

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

After changing careers, I served as the Operations Manager for a private coalition comprising 32+ of the nation's leading environmental and advocacy nonprofit organizations. I directly supported the Presidents, Chief Executive Officers, and Executive Directors of these nonprofit organizations when they collaborated on shared environmental priorities. I served as the primary point of contact for the coalition, directly supporting the Chair, Vice Chair, Legislative Directors, Communications Directors, various Committees and Working Groups, and other Green Group-sponsored initiatives. I thoroughly planned and executed 15+ quarterly, in-person CEO meetings and retreats, including dozens of phone and Zoom calls. I managed the coalition's finances, operations, and community engagement. I also marshalled the design, coordination, and execution processes for dozens of organizations and hundreds of staff members to co-create White House and Federal government department and agency transition team policy recommendations for two incoming administrations (2016 and 2020).

Washington D.C. Metro Area

I have eight years of experience in Federal Government policy and administration, providing research, analysis, writing, editing, meeting planning, and programmatic support to various agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense (DoD). In supporting these entities, I worked extensively in the areas of project strategy, development, and management; policy analysis and coordination; industry and government partnerships; technical writing and editing; and cross-sector coordination. In doing so, I acquired a wealth of institutional knowledge and experience in telecommunications policy planning as well as critical infrastructure protection and resiliency initiatives. I also have a year of experience supporting the Intelligence Community, specifically a Defense Intelligence Agency client, analyzing foreign telecommunications infrastructure and cyber asset information for countries of interest.

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

Before joining Booz Allen, I was accepted into Secretary Elaine L. Chao’s DOL Internship Program for the summer of 2006 in Washington, D.C. Within the Bureau of International Affairs, I collaborated with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Coordinator to organize a major DOL-sponsored-Conference in Vietnam while working directly with DOL agencies, the State Department, the private sector, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, and the APEC Secretariat in Singapore. As an intern, I prepared several white papers for use by the Secretary of Labor and the Deputy Undersecretary for the 2006 Global Summit Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting in Moscow, Russia.

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

I obtained an internship at FEMA in its Office of International Affairs through the Boston University Washington Internship Program where I routinely assisted the program specialists in accompanying visiting foreign delegations interested in FEMA’s preparedness, response, and recovery operations. In this role, I helped prepare briefings for the Undersecretary of FEMA and the Acting Director of International Affairs supporting their attendance at the 10th Joint Committee Russian-American Conference in St. Petersburg. I was also tasked to handle and organize hundreds of recorded interactions with countries from six continents.

Master Of Science (M.S.), Applied Intelligence

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), International Relations

Activities and Societies: Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, Women's Golf Team

High School Diploma

Activities and Societies: Soccer, golf, tennis