Laura Calandrella is a leadership strategist and consultant. She has spent the past two decades working with organizations from across the environmental community to design collaborative approaches to our most pressing issues. This has included work with leaders across the globe, from rural communities in Mexico to Fortune 500 companies in Atlanta. Her career began as a conservation biologist and international development practitioner. These experiences gave Laura firsthand knowledge of the power of collaboration, but also the difficulties that arise when diverse perspectives align under a shared vision for change. She has ten years of experience with the USDA Forest Service, where she helped lead wildfire response and the use of fire to restore and maintain the landscape.

Laura is the author of Our Next Evolution (Lioncrest Publishing, 2021), which delivers a framework for 21st century collaboration through four interlinked leadership practices. Today, she guides the growth of sustainability and conservation partnerships by teaching the practices of collaborative leadership. Her work strengthens relationships, delivers more holistic and creative solutions, and allows her clients to achieve impactful results at increasingly larger scales. She is also the Executive Director of Keeping Forests, a 13-state initiative focused on conserving the 245 million acres of Southern forests under threat of development that are essential to a thriving social, economic, and ecological future.