Laura Bestler coordinates strategic initiatives, annual inclusive classroom training, and programming for CELT. Laura is a member of the NCORE-ISCORE (National / Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity) Project and Iowa State University’s Diversity and Inclusion Council.
She received accolades as a recipient of the 2019 Women Impacting Iowa State calendar and the 2019 Carroll Ringgenberg Award, an annual University award.
Laura earned her doctoral degree in educational leadership with a concentration in social justice from Iowa State University. Her dissertation topic was “Exploring the effect of addressing social injustices as a student affairs professional.” She has a B.S. in broad area art from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and an M.Ed. in educational leadership from Grand Valley State University (MI).
Laura worked as the technology coordinator for the University Council for Educational Administration’s (UCEA) Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE) from 2008-2011. She worked as a student affairs administrator at Iowa State University from 1997-2006 and William Penn College (IA) from 1995-1997.
Laura lives in Ames with her partner Sam. They have two Dobermans, Gunny and Jefé, and two Norwegian Forest Cats, Tyrion and Emmylou.