Laura Brennan is originally from rural upstate New York and has lived in Portland, Oregon for over 25 years. She is a racial justice and equity advocate. 

Laura’s commitment to dismantling racism and achieving racial equity stems from her early childhood when she expressed curiosity about racial diversity. That, paired with personal relationships with people of different racial and economic backgrounds, informed her racial equity lens at a very young age. 

With so many challenges facing the nation in our most recent past, it brings Laura hope that more and more white people are further aware of the atrocities and inequities impacting people of color. This awareness, Laura hopes, is leading to increased empathy for people of color and other marginalized groups, and will accelerate our nation’s racial equity journey. 

Being in nature brings Laura great joy. She loves perching on a boulder where the forest and the ocean meet, while reflecting and taking in the smells and sounds of the water, and feeling the sand beneath her feet.