Who is Laura Gannon?
I am a Centennial parent with one child in High School (Jillian - 14) and one child in Kindergarten (Emma - 5). I live in Circle Pines with my husband (Mike) and my children. We have lived in Circle Pines for six years and have really enjoyed getting involved in the community!
Education is near and dear to my heart and I know from experience that a great education is the key to a successful future. As a Principal Software Systems Engineer, I make a lot of decisions about how a user is going to interact with a System using its Software. I've designed Software Systems for Radars, Military vehicles (Bradley Fighting Vehicles and AMPV), as well as Cardiac devices systems. I have always worked amongst a diverse team of engineers and have lead design teams. I could not have obtained this career without valuing education and having the best teachers, coaches, and administrators creating an environment where I could discover and develop my talents.
Giving back to the community and volunteering is a big part of my life. I truly believe that in order to get the best from your community, you need to contribute to it. Every late Winter/ early Spring, I volunteer to be the Cookie Mom for my eldest child's Girl Scout Troop. I am also a volunteer for whatever the troop needs, for example, running games at elementary school carnivals in the Centennial School District. I have also spent some time volunteering for Centennial's Theatre Boosters at the Middle School Performances the past couple of years.
Our children's education is of top utmost importance to me and we are in a critical time to make changes that will help our kids succeed in a new and ever changing landscape of obstacles.
Why I am running
I want to support and guide our students, teachers, and staff in building a community culture where every child and every adult in our school district feels safe, included, and supported.
I want them to feel impassioned to learn and grow with brave curiosity no matter their cultural or racial background, gender, sexuality, economic class, physical ability, or mental ability. Along with this vision, I want to lead with transparency and collaboration with the parents of Centennial School District.
The School Board needs to continue to rebuild trust with the community by having hard conversations and making positive change. I'm not afraid to roll my sleeves up and do the work of building better relationships with the parents of our community.
My Experience
I was an active officer of the PTA at Jillian's Elementary School in California. Our last year at the school, I served as the PTA President. I have done community organizing work with Take Action Minnesota, Centennial CARES, and 4Centennial.
This organizing work has taught me how to have relationship building dialog with people of different perspectives, cultures, and backgrounds. Being an Engineer also has taught me to think out of the box and come up with creative solutions to complicated problems.
I will bring all of this rich and valuable experience to the Centennial District as we continue to build bridges and align with our rapidly changing community.