Laura Shepherd is a certified teacher, and received her MA in Educational Theatre from New York University after graduating with degrees in Music Education and Theatre from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music.  Her passions include theater for social change, devising new works with young people, and arts infused education.  Laura is a TATLab graduate, and she completed training in the RULER curriculum for Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) as well as many workshops on SEL and related topics through School’s Out Washington, the Seattle Opera, the Center for Nonviolent Communication and other organizations.  Since 2001, Laura has taught and directed with Studio East, Youth Theatre Northwest, Camp Ten Trees, and most recently with the LENS Project through the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts.  Laura served as the Education Director at Studio East from 2007-2015, where she Directed "The Bully Plays," "Godspell" and "Monkey Magic" among other projects. A member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Laura teaches singing to students of all ages, and you can find out more at shepherdsongstudio.com.