Laura Heider, MBA

Laura Heider comes to Seattle University with deep, meaningful experience as a leader in diversity and inclusive efforts, most recently serving as the Assistant Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion at Ochsner Health, where she authored the DEI Strategic Plan, drove diversity and inclusion efforts, and oversaw a diverse team of regional directors throughout Louisiana and Mississippi. Prior to Ochsner, she worked in the UAB School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion, University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she spearheaded the development of their Diversity Toolkit, The Common Thread.

She is a certified Cook-Ross Implicit Bias trainer, and has numerous other certifications in Diversity & Inclusion work. As part of the dissemination core for the Mid-South Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center for Health Disparities Research, she also has depth of experience in race-based health disparities. Her academic work has appeared in the Journal of General Internal Medicine and Ethnicity & Disease and she has presented at national conferences, including the Group for Diversity & Inclusion, on topics related to professional development in DEI. In her spare time, Laura enjoys yoga, playing the piano, reading, camping, hiking, and running ultramarathons.