Laura brings a range of business and legal expertise to the Cancer Center of Kansas (CCK) as our Executive Director, formerly serving as the Chief Legal Officer.
Born and raised in Wichita, Laura graduated with honors from the University of Kansas, receiving her B.S. in journalism along with minors in French and leadership studies in 2004. She then stayed in Lawrence to attend the University of Kansas School of Law, where she was honored at graduation with the Caryl K. Smith Student Leader Award by the Chancellor. After receiving her doctorate degree in law (JD) and joining Hinkle Law Firm in 2007, Laura earned her masters of business administration (MBA) degree from Washburn University. Laura returned to Wichita to practice law full-time as a part of Hinkle Law Firm’s business law & healthcare departments, representing physicians and many other individuals and businesses in a number of industries and in a variety of transactions. She left her practice to join the CCK team as the Chief Legal Officer in the beginning of 2014. Laura was honored as a part of the Wichita Business Journal (WBJ)’s “40 under 40” Class of 2013 and the Women in Business Class of 2017. She was also recognized in a special “Women in the Law” edition of the University of Kansas School of Law magazine in 2014. Specifically, she was featured in the up-and-coming section, which highlighted 4 young graduates achieving success early in their career. She has been asked several times to serve as a Mentor for the Women in Business, Mentoring Monday city-wide event held by the WBJ and did so in both 2018 and 2019. Laura was also selected by the WBJ as a Woman Who Leads for her work at CCK and the Wichita Cancer Foundation (WCF) in both 2019 and 2021, respectively.
Beyond her professional achievements, Laura has stayed very committed to philanthropy and local leadership roles, giving back to her community with time, talent and treasure. She is the Co-Founder and Vice President of WCF, a non-profit organization providing health insurance premium assistance for cancer patients across the state of Kansas. Laura served as a Big Sister for Big Brothers, Big Sisters for 5 years. She served on the Board of Directors for the American Heart Association (AHA) for several years and held Chair positions for the auction and sweetheart program AHA Heart Ball committees. Laura served for several years on the events committee for KU Round-up, Wichita’s premier event supporting the University of Kansas, including co-chairing the auction. Laura has given back to her legal community by serving as Chairman for the Wichita Bar Association Business Law committee. Laura served 2 terms on the KU School of Law Board of Governors and was asked in 2019 to present a mini TED Talk to the second and third year law students in front of the school’s faculty and staff on the topic of her advice to succeed academically and professionally following law school graduation. Laura is a proud alumna from Wichita Collegiate School (WCS), where her 4 children now attend. Laura gives of her time often for volunteer roles, including coaching girls basketball and volleyball. She also co-chaired the school’s first annual signature fundraising event, the Spartan Bash, and raised record-breaking dollars for the school. For Laura’s contributions to WCS, she was honored with the Randy Storms Alumni Service Award. Laura is thrilled to also be currently serving in her second term as a member of the Sedgwick County Zoo Board.
Laura is well equipped to lead the CCK team by drawing on her unique education and experience in the areas of legal, business and leadership.
