Laura Thorsett is a Vice President at GBAO, where she works on quantitative and qualitative campaign and issue research, including survey design, programming, analysis, and presentations. Her work particularly focuses on education issues and the Pacific Northwest, including work for Governor Tina Kotek (OR), Rep. Andrea Salinas (OR-6), both Oregon Democratic state legislative caucuses, New Direction PAC (Washington state legislature independent expenditure), and multiple ballot measure campaigns for legislative accountability and democratic reform. She also helped design and leads GBAO’s internal training program.

Additionally, since 2020, Laura has conducted extensive research for the National Education Association and over 30 state affiliates, surveying members on issues relating to electoral advocacy, the COVID-19 pandemic, collective bargaining, and recent culture war attacks on the education system. Her work has also included numerous other labor organizations, including Oregon AFSCME, Oregon SEIU 503, the Washington Nurses Association, and more.

In previous election cycles, Laura also worked with former Governor Kate Brown (OR), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1), and Oregon’s ballot measures for a tobacco and vaping tax and campaign finance reform. In 2018, she worked on polling that helped secure supermajorities in both the Oregon House of Representatives and State Senate.

Prior to joining GBAO, Laura interned with the Pew Research Center’s political team and was a member of the Harvard Institute of Politics’ Public Opinion Project, conducting public opinion research focused on young Americans’ political involvement.

Laura is a native of Santa Cruz, CA and Salem, OR and graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor’s degree in social studies and a secondary field in statistics, focusing on political sociology and inequality in the American education and child welfare systems.