Laura is the Chief Operating Officer for nuEra Cannabis. nuEra is one of the largest independently-owned cannabis companies in Illinois, where it operates seven medical and adult-use dispensaries, has three additional ones under development, and one of only 20 cultivation mega-licenses in the state. nuEra’s brand portfolio includes Interstate420, Alchemy, Midweek Friday and Riseau. As part of the nuEra team, Laura has navigated the ups and downs of the Illinois and Michigan cannabis markets as they transitioned from medical to adult-use, working on everything from writing applications, securing zoning approvals, supervising buildout projects, developing multiple MIP brands and helping negotiate major M&A transactions.

Laura serves on the board of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois (CBAI) and has been selected as a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, as one of Huffington Post’s 40 under 40 Latinos in Foreign Policy and as a Michael Rockefeller Memorial Fellow. She has a degree in Government, magna cum laude, from Harvard University. Laura, who immigrated with her family from Colombia to the US as asylum seekers when she was a teenager, is passionate about drug policy reform.