Pastor Laura was born and raised in Visalia, CA.  She and her husband Daren have two daughters: Emily age 11 and Linnaea age 7.  Pastor Laura was a veterinarian before entering the ministry and graduated from the Veterinary Schoolat UC Davis in 1991.  She met her husband Daren in seminary and the two graduated from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN in 1996.  She served as interim campus pastor at Colorado University at  Boulder, CO before accepting a call to Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Marysville, WA in 1997.  They jointly accepted a call to serve Cross and Crown Lutheran Church, Rohnert Park, CA in 2002.  Shortly after, Daren began PhD work in theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.  Pastor Laura also serves as Lutheran campus pastor to Sonoma State University. 

In addition to her studies at Luther Seminary, Pastor Laura studied at the Lutheran Seminary in Hong Kong and worked in the Vietnamese refugee camps there, as well as with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hong Kong.  

She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the board of directors for Trinity Lutheran College in Issaquah, WA.  She has also served as chaplain for the Sierra Pacific Synodical Woman’s Retreat at Asilomar and as retreat leader for the Central Valley Women’s Retreat. 

Pastor Laura has a deep love for the Church and people describe her spirituality as infectious.  She is passionate about children’s ministry, preaching and dynamic worship.  For recreation, she and her family love to build sand castles, enjoy the ocean and play with their dog Ginger.