About Laura

Dr. Laura Spencer is a leading educator in the area of innovative leadership, teaching, and learning. She has served as a classroom teacher, an Ed Tech director, and a school district administrator focused on applying design thinking principles to achieve transformational change. Her current role as Chief Academic Innovation Officer integrates all of those experiences, as she develops engaging online learning tools, programs, and curriculum for students in TK-12th grade. She also teaches and writes college courses for two San Diego-based universities and consults as a Designer-in-Residence for UCSD’s Design Lab.

Laura has provided professional development and presentations at conferences across the United States to educators and industry leaders on topics ranging from effective leadership, sustainable Ed Tech integration, problem solving with design thinking, and building an innovative culture.

She has been recognized as an Innovative Educator, Administrator of the Year, and San Diego County’s Top Tech Exec, as well as recently winning a CUE Gold Disk and the Classroom of the Future Innovate Award. She’s been featured on The YouSchool and Innovative Pedagogy podcasts. She is a founding board member of EquityEDU and also sits on the CUE Board.

But the thing she is most proud of is being a Navy mom to two amazing daughters even though she is an Army veteran.

When she’s not focused on education or being a mom, you can probably find her paddling around somewhere on her standup paddleboard.

Newspaper Article About My Work:
Design thinking shaping learning experiences in Del Mar Union School District

A Great Video Showcasing Student Design Thinking in Action:
Design Thinking: Mitchell Partners with Del Mar Students