Interests
Internationalist, Musician, Human Rights Activist
I aim to use artistic expression as a source of building and empowering communities, and reduce the risk of dementia.
Current Work
Laura works at the intersection of human rights, music, and brain health. She is the Community Education Specialist and Music Leader Facilitator at UCSF’s Memory and Aging Center and serves on the Board of Directors of Musicians for Human Rights. Her work focuses on using the arts to support trauma recovery, foster resilience, and reduce dementia risk among older adults, migrants and other vulnerable communities in San Francisco and beyond.
Personal Hero
Victor Jara
Words of Strength
Empathetic, Visionary, Courageous, Optimistic, Artistic
Vision
To reduce the scale of dementia, we must have multi-disciplinary and culturally diverse research and distribute the results in a socially equitable way. Access to collective spaces where there is a constant exploration of creativity and integration.
Motivation
The complex trauma that refugees experience due to displacement and social isolation are both risk factors for further cognitive impairment. Laura aims to use music as a source of building community and integration between locals and new migrants.
Education & Experience
Laura received her undergraduate degree in International Relations from the University of Rosario in Bogotá, Colombia, and the University of Pantheon Assas in Paris, France. She completed her Master’s in Human Rights and Democratization at the Global Campus of Human Rights in Venice, Italy, and Thessaloniki, Greece. With a background in international law and human rights, Laura has extensive experience using music, dance, and the arts to promote healing and resilience in refugee communities across Europe and Africa. She now applies this expertise at UCSF’s Memory and Aging Center, where she develops community education programs and works with older adults and vulnerable populations to promote brain health and reduce dementia risk. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Musicians for Human Rights.
Send
Laura María
a NoteHave ideas for global brain health or a collaboration? I would love to hear from you. Feel free to send an introductory note.
