About Laura
Laura has always loved stories. Some of her fondest childhood memories are of hearing adults chat about life and work while playing bridge at the kitchen table. By her late teens, she realized that she wanted to have a career as a writer. Without a mentor to guide her, her poetry, plays and short stories went no further than her computer and a box of three-ring binders. In the meantime, Laura pursued her other passion - teaching - and earned Bachelor's degrees in Psychology and History, and a Master of Arts in Educational Studies. Along the way her essays won awards and her teaching skills opened many doors for her in the academic world; but it wasn't really where she wanted to be. Everything came together for Laura when she became a parent. How, she wondered, could she encourage her daughter to follow her dreams if she wasn't doing the same? Her writing grew into telling stories to kids and the storytelling fed her writing. Tutoring ESL and special needs students improved her skills as both a writer and teacher. Now Laura earns her living as a writer and storyteller and by equipping teachers to help their students become better writers and storytellers. And though she began her journey thinking that she was just a "writer," she has learned that it all begins with being a storyteller, a disappearing art form that has to be both modeled and practiced if it is going to survive. For Laura, exploring the art of the spoken word has been an unexpected joy. Laura has been working as a professional children's storyteller since April, 2007. Her alter ego, Agent Story, was born when she was asked in July of that year to perform at a vacation bible school camp with a secret agent theme. To date she has entertained thousands of children in more than one hundred performances. Her latest storytelling project is all about buidling the financial literacy of Canadian kids in elementary school. She writes, directs and produces a YouTube show called Money & Me with Agent Story. She also provides on-site financial education services including live shows, classroom workshops and teacher training workshops. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook as "agentstory."
In September, Laura began a financial literacy blog and in the last eight months, she has published more than forty articles and reviews plus interviews with people such as Robert Herjavec of Dragons' Den. Coming up are interviews with Arlene Dickinson (Dragons' Den star) and Dave Chilton (author of The Wealthy Barber). She recently signed on with Delta TV (Eastlink) to produce and host a television show called Money Moment with Laura Thomas. In each five-minute segment, Laura will use her bubbly personality to review one money word in a way that people of all ages can understand. Production begins this summer and the episodes will air in the fall. In 2010, Laura received a grant from the Storytellers of Canada to organize a community event for young writers and storytellers for World Storytelling Day 2011. It was a huge success. Professional Memberships |
