IN MEMORIAM: LAUREL SHOCKLEY
Clients, Partners and Stakeholders, it is with sadness and regret we write to share the heartbreaking news that our Board Member Laurel Shockley has passed away following a couple of years of health challenges that never dampened her spirit or wit.
Laurel was one of our longest standing members, representing Southern California Edison as their Economic Development Manager for a multi-county area. In addition to supporting our work in Ventura County, Laurel exercised leadership in communities from the San Gabriel and Antelope Valleys through Santa Clarita and into Kern and Tulare Counties. Never daunted by that enormous territory, it was always all of our experience that if you needed her help on a project or as a friend she was right there for you in every way.
In her passing we’ve lost not only a great friend and ally, but our profession will carry on without one of our most expert and knowledgeable professionals. Laurel had previously served as the Southern California 8 county area director for the California Trade & Commerce Agency, then moved on to work with KPMG and LA EDC before taking her position with Edison. Laurel was expert in all aspects of siting a business, was masterful in navigating permits and personalities, and never expected or took any credit but was essential to every deal she touched. She had a particular gift for crafting economic impact analyses, irreproachable both for the integrity of the data as well as for interpreting its real world value. Laurel never failed to understand and convey how our work connects to people and the quality of our lives.
Laurel will be missed by many.
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