Women in Leadership Program

Laura Johannesen

Active Term: 03/2023 - 03/2024

Areas of Expertise

• Advocacy, Actions & Accountability
  
• Driving Ideas, Intellectual Growth & Transformation

Governance Manager – Data Management & Privacy

Mintz Levin

Laura is an executive leader linking transformative information strategies and governance, risk and compliance strategies – with a continuous improvement mindset to consistently move organizations ahead of the curve.  Laura built her career as a senior operations and information leader of a 120+-attorney, 10 practice area, leading law firm (Foster Garvey PC, formerly Foster Pepper PLLC).  In 2022, Laura joined 500+-attorney, Am Law 100, law firm Mintz, Levin, Cohen, Ferris, and Popeo, P.C., where she is now serving as Information Governance Manager -- Data Management & Privacy.  

Laura's area of executive influence and deepest alignment are embodied by the IGRM lifecycle:  balancing value, risk and cost; unifying Business/Legal, IT/Records Information Management, Privacy/Information Security; and unlocking the power of information management.  Through this approach, Laura has built a portfolio of career defining projects that establish crucial and compliant information governance, define operations programs to boost corporate profitability, and drive consensus building.  Laura's strategic insight throughout her career is built on two fundamentals:  conquer complexity and operationalize abstract concepts.

On a more personal note, the French ideals of liberté, égalité, fraternité highlight Laura's shared values of balance, responsibility, equitable access, self-determination, and pursuit of the common good.  They bind her extensive life experience – both professional and personal – with an unwavering commitment to meaningfully impacting others.  This ethos has enabled Laura to gain organizational trust, to create safe environments for professionals to advance and excel, and to translate technical and operational expertise into universal insight that activates stakeholders.  Atop a bedrock of trust, Laura creates connections with diverse stakeholders, builds consensus horizontally and vertically, and delivers change with agility.

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