Laura Sanchez-Parkinson
Senior Director of Intercultural Excellence and Community Engagement
PRONOUNS she/her
Allen House Room 106
461 Main Street
Burlington, VT 05405
United States
- University of Michigan
Division of Intercultural Excellence
BIO
Laura Sanchez-Parkinson serves as Senior Director of Intercultural Excellence and Community Engagement in the Office of the Vice Provost for Intercultural Excellence at the University of Vermont. In this role, she works across the institution to foster an environment where faculty, staff, and students can engage across differences and contribute to meaningful cultural transformation at UVM and across Vermont.
Prior to joining UVM, Laura worked across the higher education, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors. At the University of Michigan, she served as Senior Program Manager for the Michigan Program for Advancing Cultural Transformation and Assistant Director of the Phillip J. Bowman Center for Scholarship to Practice. There, she mobilized a national network of multidisciplinary scholars to translate research into strategies that informed decision-making on complex social issues. Laura also served as Director of Programs and Partnerships at The Steve Fund, a nonprofit organization focused on the well-being of young people of color, and as a Senior Program Officer at Panorama Global, managing collaborative funds to invest in nonprofit and educational initiatives addressing racial and gender disparities.
Laura’s approach to her work is grounded in an understanding of how systemic and organizational structures and practices shape people’s experiences and opportunities. Her research interests included college access and success, leadership development, and organizational change in higher education.
Laura earned a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Studies and Sociology and a Master of Arts in Higher Education Management and Organizations from the University of Michigan.
Bio
Laura Sanchez-Parkinson serves as Senior Director of Intercultural Excellence and Community Engagement in the Office of the Vice Provost for Intercultural Excellence at the University of Vermont. In this role, she works across the institution to foster an environment where faculty, staff, and students can engage across differences and contribute to meaningful cultural transformation at UVM and across Vermont.
Prior to joining UVM, Laura worked across the higher education, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors. At the University of Michigan, she served as Senior Program Manager for the Michigan Program for Advancing Cultural Transformation and Assistant Director of the Phillip J. Bowman Center for Scholarship to Practice. There, she mobilized a national network of multidisciplinary scholars to translate research into strategies that informed decision-making on complex social issues. Laura also served as Director of Programs and Partnerships at The Steve Fund, a nonprofit organization focused on the well-being of young people of color, and as a Senior Program Officer at Panorama Global, managing collaborative funds to invest in nonprofit and educational initiatives addressing racial and gender disparities.
Laura’s approach to her work is grounded in an understanding of how systemic and organizational structures and practices shape people’s experiences and opportunities. Her research interests included college access and success, leadership development, and organizational change in higher education.
Laura earned a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Studies and Sociology and a Master of Arts in Higher Education Management and Organizations from the University of Michigan.