Laurie moved to Sun Valley with her family in 1977, attending both Hemingway and The Community School. She likes to joke that the valley was so small back then that they changed the population sign by exactly seven people after they moved to town (it happened to be a census year). She attended high school in Del Mar, California, then headed to Dartmouth College for four years before returning to Ketchum to enjoy a year as a powder hound in 1989. That year became several more and witnessed the launch of Laurie’s writing and editing career, as well as many lifelong connections that solidified her love for this valley in all shapes and forms.

An addicted world traveler, her explorations have taken her onto a documentary film crew covering elephant recovery across central and eastern in Africa, trekking in Nepal, deep into an aboriginal art community in the heart of the Australian outback and across the Pacific Ocean via sailboat; but she realizes that coming home to the community of the Wood River Valley is what makes it all worthwhile.

Laurie is the proud mother of two curious and inspired children, whom she is busy gently guiding and nurturing with the help of her husband Pete Whitehead. The rest of the time, she acts as publisher and owner of Sun Valley Magazine, along with the Mandala Media book division, which she launched in 2010. She is honored to be on the board of Flourish Foundation and was drawn to the organization because of their work in developing a larger scope and definition of what it means to be in community together—creating meaningful connections between individuals, families, cultures and organizations, both locally and regionally, as well as on a national and global scale.