Laura Bennett

Laura Bennett serves as the Senior Director of Faculty and Curriculum for the Pre-College Programs within Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies. She manages the classroom experience for the Pre-College programs by collaborating with Faculty Recruitment to hire instructors, identify areas of support through classroom observations, and develop opportunities for professional development. Collaborating with the Assistant Dean of Continuing Education and the Director of Pre-College Programs, she oversees the creation and implementation of new projects within the Pre-College programs.

Laura has worked in the field of education for 16 years. Prior to this position, she served as a high school teacher in the South Bronx for 13 years. In her role as Peer Collaborative Teacher, she created and facilitated professional development, managed technology, and developed digital processes to streamline protocols. Part of her responsibilities included mentoring new and experienced teachers, including conducting classroom visits and offering structured support for growth. She oversaw projects such as school-wide classroom intervisitation and directed teacher teams through data driven inquiry. With a focus on Social Justice and creating welcoming learning environments for all students, she served as advisor for the Gender-Sexuality Alliance.

During her tenure as a teacher, she was awarded several travel fellowships- two Fund for Teachers Fellowships, a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Fellowship, and a Heifer International Study Tours for Educators Fellowship. Through her Fund for Teachers Fellowships, she had the opportunity to study women of the ancient world in Greece, Turkey, and Croatia, as well as human rights violations in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. The Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms afforded her the opportunity to travel and teach in Morocco while learning valuable global competencies to bring back to her classroom. The Heifer International Study Tour brought her to Honduras to study poverty in rural communities and how the Heifer organization implemented programs that had life-changing impacts on communities.

Laura earned two Master’s degrees in Education and Educational Leadership.