Laura Thurman

Senior Conservation Specialist

Staunton Office

Laura helps landowners in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley protect their land and was named “Conservator of the Year” by the Valley Conservation Council in 2010. Before coming to VOF, she was a police officer in Oakland, California, where she was named Mounted Officer of the Year in 2000. She has also worked as a copyeditor at two regional newspapers in Florida and California, and as a horse trainer in Florida. She has a bachelor’s in journalism with a minor in theater and a master’s in public administration from the University of San Francisco. Laura is the training director of a local dog training club and has four occasionally obedient dogs of various sizes who compete in obedience and tracking trials. She also leads a 4-H club devoted to dog training. When not training dogs (or training people to train dogs) she likes go trail riding on her horse, Max.