Laura Clark
Virginia’s Community Colleges Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Success and Professional Development Executive Director, Virginia’s Community College Student Success Center
Laura J. Clark serves as the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Success and Professional Development and the Executive Director of Virginia’s Community Colleges Student Success Center. She is a Master Trainer with the Community Resilience Initiative and the owner of LJC Consulting, LLC. Laura is also a board member of the Virginia College Access Network (VCAN).
A lifelong educator and learner, Laura began her career in early childhood education and working with under-resourced families. Her 20 years in higher education have focused on helping students meet their goals and equipping other higher education professionals to do the same. She has worked with international, under-resourced, and historically marginalized student populations. She is a fearless advocate for creating welcoming places where everyone can chase their dreams.
As a certified trainer with CRI, she has equipped over 2,000 higher education professionals to be trauma-informed individuals and taught almost 900 educators to create spaces of safety and belonging. Laura is a first-generation college student who earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Virginia Tech and a Master of Science in Counseling and Human Development with a specialization in Student Affairs Administration from Radford University.
Laura was one of the founding College Success Coaches in the Chancellor’s College Success Coach Initiative at Paul D. Camp Community College. In that position, she helped to create an award-winning, nationally recognized coaching model to assist students in their success in college.
As an adjunct faculty member, Laura taught Health and Student Development courses at Paul D. Camp Community College. She has additional teaching experience at Virginia Tech and Radford University. Previously, she was the Assistant Director of Student Support at the Cranwell International Center at Virginia Tech. While at Radford University, Laura was a part of several teams including the Faculty Development Center; the Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Assessment; and the Office of New Student Programs. She also served as a regional coordinator for two Fortune 500 companies overseeing the training and success of teams at 13 locations across the Commonwealth.
She enjoys life with her partner, a lovely 17-year-old daughter, and two rescue kittens. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, designing and building sets for stage productions, crafting, watching hockey, and baking.
