Our Team

Lara is a Senior Policy Associate at the Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center. In her role, she conducts rigorous and comprehensive reviews of evidence in the area of child and parent health policy and produces technical written resources for policymakers. She also monitors the development and implementation of state policies related to community-based doulas, group prenatal care, and Early Intervention services and contributes to the annual Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap. 

Prior to this role, Lara was a graduate research assistant at the Child and Family Research Partnership and supported staff in creating evidence reviews in a variety of policy areas. She also served as a legislative aide in the Texas State House of Representatives where she focused on issues such as contraceptive access, insurance coverage for fertility preservation, and sexual assault survivor protections. Her policy specialization is in reproductive health and equitable healthcare access.

Lara holds a Master’s Degree in Public Affairs from The LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from St. Bonaventure University. In her free time, Lara loves traveling, trying out new recipes, gardening, and pilates.