Laura Dannehl-Schickman
A third-generation Santa Cruz-ian, Laura grew up biking along West Cliff, catching crickets in the field behind her great grandparent’s small orchard in Scotts Valley, and exploring the Wilder Ranch trails and coastal beaches along Highway 1.
Laura attended UCSC, where she majored in American Studies. After graduating, she moved to the Bay Area, where she worked in fundraising before attending graduate school at Cambridge University, where she received her MPhil in American literature. Moving to an urban center and then jumping across the pond were two experiences that helped her discover the critical aspect of place to identity and what it meant to be “from Santa Cruz.” Laura is excited to work with the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, which is dedicated to preserving and sharing the core of what she believes makes Santa Cruz precious – its open spaces and wildlands.