Laura is a captivating speaker who will have you on the edge of your seat. She uses her gift of storytelling to engage her audience and teach powerful lessons about character, faith, and values. Her reputation as a speaker is built on her ability to make an audience laugh while simultaneously exploring meaningful topics with candor, empathy, and insight. She’s an educator and storyteller that loves to teach and inspire people to live their values and reach their full potential.

The audience

Laura’s messages are universal and apply to everyone—young and old, male and female. Her messages benefit the entire family. She’s spoken to many different groups—educational conferences, religious programs, school assemblies, corporate events, mothers’ retreats, and family advocacy groups.

The message

Laura’s core message is about becoming a person of remarkable character. She believes no matter what realm you’re in—home, work, school, community—you can become who you’re meant to be. She’s passionate about helping people discover their individual talents that, in turn, help those around them. She believes reaching outward to others defines us as individuals and brings fulfillment to our lives. Laura’s message is about looking beyond ourselves, serving others, and making sure everyone is included. She believes one person can change everything, one person can make a difference, and one person can not only be a hero in their own story but in the stories of those around them. Some of her favorite talks center on service friendship and family.

Biography

Laura Welch lives in Vienna, Virginia, with her husband and five children. She was born in British Columbia, Canada and was raised in Tampa, Florida, She’s a speaker, educator, comedienne, storyteller, actress, and mother. At a young age, Laura discovered that she loved performing. Singing, dancing, and acting not only brought her joy but brought joy to those she performed for. It was her love of comedy, however, that motivated her to audition for a sketch comedy troupe called Divine Comedy while attending Brigham Young University (BYU). She loved performing in front of crowds and refining her comedic ability. A highlight of that experience was the creation of D.C. Pro Tour where she produced, directed, performed, and filmed some of her favorite sketches with her fellow troupe members that was later distributed by Deseret Book. Laura continues to pursue acting and writing opportunities and is an advocate for family-friendly content. Acting and comedy paved the way for Laura’s public speaking career. She felt inspired to take this career path and found it came naturally. At a national collegiate speech and debate competition, Laura won first place for her Oral Interpretation Monologue. She discovered her public speaking skills transitioned naturally to teaching. She attended the rigorous two-year LDS Church Education Seminary Program while at BYU, where she learned skills to teach principles of character, values, and faith. She also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from BYU. After graduation, Laura taught LDS seminary at Pleasant Grove High School and later taught LDS Institute classes at The Berklee College of Music in Boston. She was hired to be a speaker for the elite Especially For Youth (EFY) program through Brigham Young University, where she’s had the opportunity to speak to teenagers at large conferences throughout the United States. Working with EFY during the past 15 years has given her the opportunity to reach thousands of teenagers with messages about character, kindness, and being a hero to those around you. She relies on her ability to make an audience laugh to draw students in and explore in-depth topics of faith and character. But Laura’s audiences are not just teenagers or young adults. She also visits and speaks at various women, faith, and community groups. She especially enjoys speaking with mothers. While living in Boston with her husband and young children, Laura became an advocate for student families at Harvard Business School (HBS). She founded an organization called Crimson Parents that offers programming and community support for HBS families. Part of that was creating a parenthood speaking series. Vice President of PBS Bridget Sullivan even took an interest in it and felt “it was a wonderful tool to help families.” Laura continues to mentor Crimson Parents today and is asked back regularly to speak to Harvard students and their partners about motherhood and families. It was during this time that Laura also founded the Female Heroes speaking series for the Boston area Relief Society, which happens to be part of the largest women’s organization in the world. She has always been passionate about helping mothers, but these experiences added to her ability to really understand the complexities women face when trying to raise a family. Laura’s biggest claim to fame, however, is the ringleader and mother of a circus of Welches. She loves nurturing her five children and playing pranks with her husband. In her spare time, she throws amazing family dance parties.