Dr. Laura Marie Torres Souder is President and CEO of Souder, Betances and Associates, Inc. in Chicago.
Through her visionary leadership, she leads a competent team of professionals to provide cutting edge training services to public and private clients in the areas of leadership development, educational transformation, bridging the student achievement gap, organizational change management, diversity and inclusion for mission and bottom-line success.
Dr. Souder earned her BA at Emanuel College in Boston and her MA and PhD in American Studies from the University of Hawaii as a Joint Doctoral Intern at the East West Center. She completed a post-doctoral Ford Foundation Minority Fellowship at De Paul University in Chicago. Laura has presented at Conferences throughout Micronesia, Asia and the South Pacific and has been part of research efforts sponsored by the South Pacific Commission, UNESCO and other entities on the effects of modernization and development on Pacific Island people, language and culture. She served as Curator of the Guam Museum.
Dr. Souder also taught at the University of Guam for over a decade. Her courses included History of Guam, Education on Guam, Sociology, Micronesian Studies, Women’s Studies and Ethnic Studies. She has written an historical monograph published by the Micronesian Area Research Center at UOG entitled, Daughters of the Island: Contemporary Chamorro Organizers of Guam.; was co-editor of Chamorro Self-Determination and has also authored numerous research papers and technical reports. She was recently recognized by the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce as the first CHamoru woman to have published a book. She has published a children’s book entitled, Kiko’s Adventure on the Magic Flying Proa in both English and CHamoru. She also writes a weekly column in the Guam Sunday Post called, Cho’cho’ Saina.
Dr. Souder has extensive background as a senior leader, manager and supervisor in government affairs. She served as the youngest member of the Governor’s Cabinet on Guam at the age of 24 and became the Cultural attaché to the Governor representing Guam internationally. She currently serves as a Member of the Kumision I Fino’ CHamoru, the Kosas Board of the Guam Museum, is a Saina advisor to the Huråo Academy and to the Guam Department of Education’s CHamoru Language and Culture Division. She is also a Research Associate at the Micronesian Area Research Center. She has also evaluated programs and provided expert testimonies to government agencies, including the United Nations.
As a woman of distinction, she has advocated for greater participation of women alongside men in promoting a more just and inclusive society in many diverse forums. Finally, she is spiritually grounded, is gifted with a sense of humor and a greater sense of purpose.