Regional Leadership

Laura is a Professor of Inclusive Entrepreneurship at Ulster University and Programme Director for the Help to Grow programme. She has a first-class honours degree, Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice and PhD from Ulster University.  Her research interests include social enterprises, SMEs and inclusive entrepreneurship, with a specific lens on females and ethnic minorities.  She has led, and leads, on several projects including EU and Shared Island and regularly undertakes consultancy with SMEs supported by InnovateUK, InvestNI, Enterprise Ireland and Intertrade Ireland.  She is a board member of a number of social enterprises and professional organisations in Northern Ireland and across the UK.  She is also an external examiner at several UK and Irish Universities.  Laura has presented at several conferences including the Academy of Marketing and European Academy of Management.  She has published widely including the European Journal of Marketing and International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research.  She is engaged in research networks across the UK impacting, and influencing, executive education for small businesses and developing interventions and practices to support policy and research in social enterprises and knowledge exchange.  She has strong links with industry and policy makers where her research is informing policy development.  She is an assessor for the Small Business Charter in the UK, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM) and a Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE) with the Chartered Association of Business Schools.  

On a personal level Laura was born and raised in Inishowen in Co. Donegal.  She comes from a family of entrepreneurs which she is very proud of.  She has one sibling – a younger brother Joe.  She is married to the love of her life Brian and a proud Mammy to her daughter Holly.  She is also a  furmammy and her dream when she retires is to set up a dog sanctuary to create a safe space for pups to find a second chance in life.