Laura Colosi

Dr. Laura Cabrera is a well-known educator, evaluator, and expert in research methods and translational research, with a particular focus on assessing educational outreach programs. With more than 15 years of research and teaching experience at Cornell, Laura was a senior researcher at the university’s Family Life Development Center and taught coursework on Families and Social Policy in its Department of Human Development. Prior to her work at Cornell, Laura conducted research at the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and The U.S. Department of Justice. Laura is author of five books and holds a PhD in Policy Analysis and Management, a Master's in Public Administration, and a bachelor's degree, all from Cornell University. Over the past decade, Laura has applied her expertise in research methods and translational research to increase public understanding, practical application, and dissemination of sophisticated systems science and systems thinking models. Laura welcomes the opportunity to educate any audience on both the imperative of teaching systems thinking and how systems thinking skills help parents, teachers, and other professionals reach their goals for their children, students, and employees. The result has been adoption of systems thinking in many settings including private companies, public schools, and NGOs, impacting countless people from all walks of life. She is currently Senior Faculty at Cabrera Research Lab, in Ithaca, New York, where she lives with her husband and three children. She and her husband co-teach classes in systems thinking at Cornell’s Institute for Public Affairs and at Ithaca College.