Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Laura graduated from the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Microbiology. She moved to Washington State, where she worked in different fields helping out the community. From being a translator for Spanish speaking immigrants at hospitals and schools to working with the University of Washington as a researcher for the Hope IV program, helping people living in low income housing.
In 2016 Laura worked as a legal specialist at Amazon. While working at Amazon, Puerto Rico was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017. She worked with a group of Puerto Ricans in Seattle to help the people affected by the aftermath of the hurricane. She helped create a 501c3 nonprofit organization called Puerto Rico We Care. This nonprofit worked on several projects that helped thousands of families in Puerto Rico. Laura created a specific project within Puerto Rico We Care using Amazon Wishlists for donors to donate directly to each town of the island. She designed and executed the project, managing more than 150 volunteers. Donors donated over 20,000 critical-need items and donations that helped more than 4,000 families in Puerto Rico. At Amazon, Laura was recognized for her “Bias For Action” efforts and her story was shared with over 250,000 Amazonians working worldwide. Laura was given the 2018 Entrepreneur of The Year Award by the League Of United American Citizens Puerto Rico Chapter. Laura also worked alongside the Amazon Disaster Relief team to help nonprofits execute similar projects as she did with Puerto Rico We Care.
In 2019, Laura left Amazon to pursue her passion and build a tech company focused in social impact – NEDDIE. Laura’s tech company NEDDIE is a platform where donors can easily find nonprofits in the US and take action to help. Donors can donate in multiple ways, including through wishlists. Laura wanted to give the spotlight to nonprofits to help them reach new audiences outside of their existing communities. NEDDIE launched in WA State, and now has nonprofits from Florida, California, New York, Indiana, Colorado, Texas and Puerto Rico, and continues expanding. Laura’s vision for NEDDIE is it to be the go-to platform for people who want to get involved in social impact on day to day basis. Laura is a nonprofit consultant, an active mentor to other entrepreneurs and women-in-tech, and part of the Board of Directors of the Providence Pediatric Hospice in Seattle. She is an advocate for women, especially Latinas, inspiring them to continue breaking barriers and grow their presence in the tech industry.