Laurie Lachance was named President of Thomas College in 2012. She is the first woman and to lead the College in its 120 year history. Before coming to Thomas, Laurie served as the Maine State Economist and is an author and speaker on the economy, leadership and education. Laurie holds an undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College, an MBA from Thomas College.
Playing Small Moment
As a female in a predominantly male field, and a predominantly male college, Laurie was used to being the only female. She was always questioning herself, wondering if she could really do it. Once Laurie was working for the college, she still found herself questioning her actions. Until the board asked her why she couldn’t just do it, why she was playing small.
The Wake Up Call When Laurie was working for the power plant, she encountered someone who questioned her self worth and her actions. This caused her to have a lot of self-doubt and it started to affect her work. In order to regain the balance in her life, Laurie found that she had to pull back get more in tune with her life. Style of LeadershipLaurie’s leadership style is collaborative. She really likes to get the insights of the people around her to come up with the best solution. It may look like it’s a sign of weakness to others, but it’s not. Laurie believes in getting the best ideas out on the table so you can move forward in the best direction.
What Are You Excited About?Laurie is excited about her new Center for Innovation in Education. This new program will add teaching and learning in a proficiency level instead of age based learning and it will integrate technology into learning. This new center will also integrate the arts into curriculum, taking the country from STEM to STEAM. Laurie is hoping to transform how teachers teach in the future.
Leadership PracticeLaurie starts each day with inspirational message and ends each day writing 5 things in her gratitude journal.
Book to Develop Leadership The Art of Possibility, by Rosamund Stone Zanderhttp://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Possibility-Transforming-Professional/dp/0142001104
Live Your Dash, Linda Ellis http://www.amazon.com/Live-Your-Dash-Moment-Matter/dp/1454912227/ Thrive, Arianna Huffingtonhttp://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Redefining-Success-Creating-Well-Being/dp/0804140863
What Would You Change?Laurie would tell her younger self to focus on balance a lot earlier in life; try not to sweat it, don’t throw yourself into your work fully until you hit the wall. It’s a lot harder to come back from the wall.
Inspirational Quote“Set a goal so big that you can’t achieve it until you grow into a person who can.” - Unknown
Interview Links
Social media:
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/laurie-lachance/55/526/565
https://www.youtube.com/user/thomasadmissions
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