In 2023, Laura was honored as one of “Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women” by Houston Woman Magazine. She also joined the Coast Monthly Magazine editorial team as a contributing writer.

Before founding Pennino and Partners in 1998, Laura held senior-level positions at Edelman and Fleishman-Hillard International Communications. Her experience with these prestigious PR agencies includes supporting a range of major clients, such as Alcatel Network Systems; Comerica Bank-Texas; Deutsche Telekom; ExxonMobil (pre-Mobil merger); Fujitsu America; Greyhound Lines; NEC America; Nortel Networks; La Quinta Inns; Norton Rose Fulbright (formerly Fulbright & Jaworski); La Madeleine French Country Bakery; Sam Houston Race Park; Texas Instruments; and The Maloof Companies (former owners of the Sacramento Kings NBA team, The Palms Casino Resort, and other ventures).

 

Clients, past and present, include but are not limited to: Apogee, Inc.; Blue Goji; Emerson Automation Solutions Final Control; Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council; InkJet, Inc.; Elementis Specialties PLC; Houston PetSet; Lemonade Day; the Lone Star Flight Museum; The Institute for Spirituality and Health; Universal Technical Institute; Concorde Career Colleges; MIAT College of Technology; Pentair Valves & Controls; Pentair Oil & Gas Filtrations & Separations; The Pin Oak Charity Horse Show; Sloan Bagley Hatcher & Perry Law Firm and its nonprofit Heads in Helmets program; Hughes Watters Askanase L.L.P.; Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, South Texas Chapter; the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators; Thayer O’Neal accounting firm; Koko FitClub Houston locations; Crown Castle International’s Modeo Mobile TV subsidiary; Bay Area Regional Medical Center (now UTMB Clear Lake); MPR Associates; Par Avion Ltd.; Virtuosi of Houston youth chamber orchestra; the Technology Entrepreneurs Exchange; McCoy Workplace Solutions; The Duchman Family Winery (formerly Mandola Estate Winery); Object 9; Northstar Healthcare; CORESTAFF Services; Continental Carbon Company; Brennan’s of Houston; Faust Distributing Company; Houston Distributing Company; and The Honor Society of Phi Kappa.

 

Laura and the Pennino and Partners team have contributed articles and commentaries published in The Houston Business Journal, The Houston Chronicle, Nightclub & Bar Magazine, and Hydrocarbon Processing magazine, as well as featured on radio and TV shows. Laura has appeared multiple times as a guest on KPRC-TV (NBC Houston affiliate, Channel 2) and KHOU-TV’s Great Day Houston morning show (CBS Houston affiliate, Channel 11). Additionally, she has served as a guest interviewer for The Business Makers Radio Show, produced and hosted by Russ Capper, a successful Houston-based entrepreneur. Laura has also contributed articles to numerous magazines and ghostwritten for many executives, with their work published locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Laura has received numerous awards for her exceptional work on behalf of her clients. Her expertise spans a wide range of capabilities, including writing, public speaking, media relations, industry analyst relations, issues and crisis communications management, community relations, executive communications and meeting facilitation, employee communications, marketing and communications training and coaching, VIP event planning, and business development.

 

With experience across diverse industry sectors such as business-to-business, professional services, banking and financial services, engineering and construction, telecommunications and technology, manufacturing, and distribution, Laura brings a well-rounded perspective to her work. She has successfully secured coverage with major news outlets, including ABC, Associated Press, Bloomberg Business News, Businessweek, CBS MarketWatch Radio, CNN, Forbes, Fortune, Investor’s Business Daily, National Public Radio, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, Reuters, and numerous other local and national business, financial, and trade media outlets.

 

Laura joined Edelman PR in 1989 as a senior account executive in the Dallas office. She maintains a positive relationship with the firm’s owners and engages Edelman if needed to support clients’ specific global agency needs. Edelman is now the world’s largest PR firm. Laura was responsible for establishing the agency’s first Technology Practice in Texas in 1991 and managed the Technology, Public Affairs, Consumer, and Business-to-Business Practice Groups in the Dallas office for several years. She also served as senior vice president and deputy manager of the Dallas office from 1994 to 1996 before becoming general manager for Houston and Austin from August 1996 through February 1998. While with Edelman, Laura was responsible for major business development initiatives, developing and managing client relationships and programs, contributing to a company-wide client service quality improvement program, and leading training sessions.

 

Earlier in her career, Laura served first as a technical editor and later as public relations manager for Forney Corporation. Formerly a subsidiary of Foster Wheeler Corporation, Forney was founded in 1927 and provides plant safety and control systems for the power and industrial sectors. She was responsible for developing and implementing the company’s first ongoing public relations program. Additionally, Laura served as publications editor and community liaison for Fidelity National Bank (later purchased by Hibernia Bank, which is now Capital One) in Baton Rouge, La. She also worked as a newspaper reporter covering the municipal, police, and fire beats for The Hammond Daily Star in Hammond, La., and as editor of The Louisiana State Trooper Magazine.

 

A native of New Orleans and former resident of Covington, La., Laura graduated from Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and a minor in Latin. She frequently serves as a guest speaker at the LSU Manship School and has also spoken for public relations classes at Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas at Austin. In April 2010, the LSU Manship School honored her as the inaugural recipient of the T.C. Shields Distinguished Alumni Service Award.

 

In 2019, Laura was elected to serve as a member of the Board of Directors for the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership and The Houston Club. The Houston Club, the oldest private business club in Houston, is now part of ClubCorp’s network of more than 200 private clubs. As a member of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership, Laura participated in Citizens for Space Exploration Capitol Hill Days, attending briefings with Congressional members and their staff in 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022.

Laura is a graduate of the Leadership Galveston Class of 2021. She is a member of the Tutu Live Krewe nonprofit marching dance troupe and the Galveston Regional Chamber. Laura volunteers with the Galveston Island Humane Society and Houston PetSet. She is a past member of the Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce. A long-time member of the Public Relations Society of America at both the national and Houston chapter levels, she has also served as an Innovation Advisor for the Houston Technology Center, where she volunteered to assist startup tech companies with public relations and marketing communications advisory services. Additionally, Laura served for three years as a volunteer member of the Top Star Marketing Advisory Board.

 

A long-time animal advocate, Laura volunteers her writing and public relations skills to train leaders of more than 80 animal rescue programs in Texas and Louisiana. She has also served as a host family member for international students participating in the United Space School’s two-week summer camp. During the summer of 2019, Laura hosted three teenage girls—affectionately known as “the Ladies”—from Australia, Italy, and Wales in her “sorority house.” In August 2022, she welcomed 38 teens from 21 countries to her home in Galveston for a pizza party.

 

As an early-stage breast cancer survivor and advocate, Laura modeled in the Pampered Pink fundraising fashion event in October 2015, hosted by the Breast Diagnostic Center of Clear Lake Regional Medical Center. In 2012, she served as the Chairperson for the American Heart Association’s Bay Area Houston Go Red for Women Luncheon. Laura has been an active member and volunteer with the Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and has also served as a public relations advisor and workshop leader for the WorldFest Houston International Film Festival. Additionally, Laura has served on the board of directors for several organizations, including the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps, a nonprofit organization addressing the ongoing recovery needs of Louisiana natives after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; the Houston Wellness Association; the International Association of Business Communicators; the Public Relations Society of America; and the Professional Women’s Fellowship.

 

Laura celebrates her Sicilian and Cajun heritage and embraces her Louisiana roots. She enjoys her 1903 home on Galveston Island, horse racing, dancing, yoga, listening to live music, entertaining at home, and participating in a wide range of events and outings. She is a certified Zumba Fitness instructor for adults and children. She is also certified as a recreational scuba diver and as a recreational sailor. Laura is proud to admit that she has a heart and soul filled with compassion for needy and disadvantaged adults, children, and animals. She is inspired daily by her clients, her team, her family, close friends, and rescued dogs and cats.