Co-Founder, Acton Academy. Laura lived on both US coasts and in between as a child, then settled into Vanderbilt University for her undergraduate studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.

After being awarded the highly competitive Walter Wattles Fellowship at Lloyd’s of London, Laura worked in the aviation insurance industry in New York City. Deciding to follow her calling into the world of education, Laura returned to Nashville and earned her Master of Education at Peabody College. This led her to her work at the Oklahoma Arts Institute, creating fine arts education programs for teachers and talented high school students.

Laura married Jeff Sandefer and is the happy mother of Sam and Charlie and step-mother to Taite. It is the inspiration of these children that led Laura and Jeff to co-found Acton Academy and the Acton Children’s Business Fair. Now, ten years later, there are over 200 Acton Academy locations around the world and over 400 Children’s Business Fairs. Her book, “Courage to Grow – How Acton Academy Turns Learning Upside Down” documents her personal journey through disrupting the traditional model of school.  

In this episode, Karen and Laura discuss Laura’s Heroine’s Journey:

• Laura’s Call to Adventure
• Ordinary Live-Comfort Zone
• We started our journey to reinvent school.
• Transformational Leaps
• Selling is not icky; it is selling is serving and telling stories and matching people with something that can change their lives.
• Embrace Full Life
• The power of having a growth mindset – knowing you can learn anything, even through struggle, for in struggle is learning.
• Return with Treasures
• Curiosity and the acceptance of suffering.
• How does Laura FLIP TIME to LOVE LIFE?