Laura Vais worked closely with the foundation’s portfolio of social entrepreneurs to leverage strategic partnerships with media, funders, corporations and government to advance social entrepreneurs’ innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. Laura joined the Skoll Foundation in 2005 as Director of Marketing and most recently served as Vice President, Marketing with executive responsibility for a broad set of programmatic initiatives including the Skoll World Forum, Social Edge and Marketing Communications. She now leverages her knowledge of the foundation’s portfolio of social entrepreneurs, programs and partnerships to cultivate opportunities that amplify the work of social entrepreneurs and their impact on the ground.
Laura brings more than 20 years of experience in marketing, brand strategy, web, and corporate communications for companies in Silicon Valley. Laura came to the Skoll Foundation from Applied Biosystems in Foster City, CA, where she served as Director of Worldwide Corporate Marketing, with responsibility for global corporate brand programs, advertising and public relations. Previously, Laura worked at Silicon Graphics in Mountain View, CA, where she spent five years leading content, production and engineering teams responsible for the company’s award-winning website. Prior to moving into the high-tech and biotech industries, Laura worked in the field of special education, first as a teacher for learning disabled children and then as a therapist at the Communicative Disorders Center at University Hospital in San Diego, CA.
Laura received a Bachelor in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California at Davis. In addition, she earned a standard elementary teaching credential and a learning handicapped teaching credential from San Diego State University.