Laurie Larsen

Third generation Powell native Laurie Larsen always wanted to be more involved in community service but didn’t have the time while raising her kids. Now, she’s running for a second time to become a Park County School District 1 board member and give back to the community.

Larsen was born and raised in Powell and has lived in the area since 1997, following a 20-year break in Laramie as an insurance broker. Upon moving back to the area, she worked for Sage Publishing for 22 years as an administrative assistant managing payroll and human resources.

Larsen has experience working as a board member on Homesteader Museum's finance committee as well as for the Powell Valley Loaves and Fishes board. She previously ran for a position on PCSD1’s board during the heavily contested 2022 race and has been an active observer in district board meetings since her children were students in the district.

“When my oldest kids were little, I didn’t have much time to get as involved as I would’ve liked to have been,” Larsen said. “Now that they’ve all grown out of the house and I’m semi-retired, I have more time to dedicate to serving the community.”

Larsen moved back to Powell after her parents began to need assistance. Since returning, all four of Larsen’s children have graduated from Powell High School, with their ages ranging from 24 to 43. While her children were in school, she participated on parent-teacher boards and became familiar both with the district’s operating process and developing an understanding of education legislation at the state level.

“My parents owned the bike shop in town and they were involved a lot in the community and with the chamber of commerce, so it’s been kind of ingrained in me to participate in the community,” Larsen said. “There’s a lot of people that complain about everything but never do anything to actually serve the community and I just want to get out there and give our students and staff the support they need.”

Community service is one of Larsen’s core values and she sees the school board as a way to give back to the community that has given her and her family so much. She believes the current board has done an excellent job and wants to be a part in continuing the student-focused approach to education.

Some of the priorities that Larsen has for the district would be to see the continuing and possible expansion of career technical education for students, depending on how the budget forecast looks. She believes that politics shouldn’t be a major consideration in board decisions and would like to see it remain as apolitical as it has been. She also noted the importance and difficulty in keeping up with technology as it continues to rapidly change and affect students and their education.

“I’m absolutely pleased with how the board has been operating, how everyone gets along and that they’re only thinking about what is best for the students,” Larsen said. “I want to see that continue and try to help as much as I can and be a part of the process without any agenda.”