Carnegie Mellon University
November 19, 2021

Welcome, Laura! Meet the newest addition to the Osher at CMU staff

By Mackenzie Carpenter

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Imagine majoring in psychobiology in college, and then discovering that the laboratory just isn’t as interesting as the inside of a museum, a science center or zoo?

Laura Myers originally set her sights on neuroscience while at Swarthmore College but soon realized that the study of how the brain processes information just wasn’t as good a fit for her as helping people USE their brains to learn and grow.

“There are no straight paths in life,” says Laura, of Highland Park.

In her new job as Administrator – General Office, Laura will be using her extensive communications and management skills to help things run smoothly as the program prepares to open up in-person classes next year.  She’ll be focused on working with volunteers and sharing office duties alongside Lyn Decker, Olivia McCann and Chelsea Prestia. 

A native of Winchester, VA, Laura spent five years after college in Rochester, NY, initially as a graduate student at the University of Rochester before taking a job as director of museum education at the Rochester Museum & Science Center. She then followed her husband, a graduate student at CMU, to Pittsburgh in 2007.

Once here, she was hired by the Carnegie Science Center, where she created and implemented summer camp, sleepover and family programs while coaching instructors and volunteers.

After taking some time off to be with her two young children, she went to work in 2017 at the Heinz History Center. There she worked with docents and volunteers, taught and gave tours, and supported civics projects related to voting.

Now she is at Osher at CMU, and while it’s a different demographic than, say, the summer camps program at the Science Center, she’ll be doing what she loves best — working as part of a team that supports and encourages lifelong learning.