Laurel worked in Office of Governor Jack Markell of Delaware, where she built the infrastructure to ensure that Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education reached every student in the state. She worked on developing and implementing systems and routines to ensure successful completion of major STEM initiatives. She identified effective STEM practices nationally/internationally for potential replication in Delaware. Laurel promoted partnerships between PK-12 education, higher education and the business community to drive progress on STEM initiatives.