Born and brought up in Raleigh, Laura Heredia is proud to serve her hometown as Executive Director of the City of Oaks Foundation. Guided by a belief that strong communities grow from connection, care, and access to shared spaces, Laura leads the Foundation’s work to connect people, parks, and purpose across the city she loves.

Throughout her career, Laura has built programs that strengthen families, train professionals, and empower communities to heal and thrive. Her past work with the Center for Child & Family Health, North Carolina Child Treatment Program, and InterAct centered on creating trauma-informed, equity-driven systems to help children and families lead safer, healthier lives. She earned her Master’s in Youth, Family and Community Sciences from NC State, a Bachelor’s in Human Relations and Nonprofit Leadership from High Point University, and is a Certified Community Health Worker.

Laura brings a hands-on, heart-forward approach to leadership, blending strategy with empathy to build partnerships that last. She’s passionate about ensuring that Raleigh is a place where every neighbor can feel at home- in our parks, our neighborhoods, and in community with each other.

Laura and her husband have two dogs, and are parenting as Wake County licensed foster parents. Their favorite things to do around town as a family are explore local parks, catch summer beach music concerts, go to the State Fair, and attend as many sporting events as possible- with college basketball, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the NC Courage being top favorites.