Laurel was born and raised in Buffalo, New York and graduated from the University at Buffalo with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1999. She moved to Connecticut shortly after graduation and met her husband Kirk, a Connecticut native. Laurel’s career in retail and fashion concluded in 2005 with the birth of her first child, Audrey and then Nate followed in 2009. After several years of volunteering at the church she joined the staff in an administrative capacity in January of 2013.