Laura has worked for a decade as a chartered professional engineer / project manager in various fields of environmental / life sciences for government, academia, industry and consultancy. She also holds a PhD in professional writing and research, and is a sessional academic in professional and creative writing, editing and communication. Laura has been a finalist for the WA Young Achiever (Career) and Young Engineer of the Year awards for her work undertaken as chairperson of State and Federal committees for Engineers Australia, which provided experience in project administration, event organisation and website maintenance.