Laurie Carafone, J.D., ThM
A mission-driven nonprofit executive, Laurie Carafone is a visionary leader with proven success driving strategic and sustainable growth, ensuring financial stability, and developing innovative programming responsive to the signs of the times. She is dedicated to expanding organizational capabilities, fostering high-performing teams, and mobilizing resources to maximize impact.
Prior to joining NETWORK, Laurie served at Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) for 13 years, most recently as Vice President, U.S. Legal where she led domestic legal services across 16 field offices, overseeing a legal team of more than 270 legal professionals that managed an active caseload of 7,000 unaccompanied children in humanitarian immigration cases. Earlier in her career, Laurie represented asylum seekers including survivors of torture at a community-based nonprofit organization, and worked as a law firm associate while maintaining an active pro bono docket.
Laurie is a recognized thought leader and advocate, having received multiple honors, such as a Top Women Attorney in Massachusetts, a Women of Justice honoree, and a Boston Bar Association Public Interest Leadership Fellow.
Laurie is a recognized thought leader and advocate, having received multiple honors, including recognition as a Top Women Attorney in Massachusetts, a Women of Justice honoree, and a Boston Bar Association Public Interest Leadership Fellow. She has completed leadership training through the Georgetown University Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership, the Management Center, the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits, and Dare to Lead™.
Laurie earned her Juris Doctor cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School, where she received the Book Award in Public International Law and was named a Ford Outstanding Woman Scholar. Laurie graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in English and a minor in Classical Studies, earning distinction as a Rufus Choate Scholar, and serving as a Dartmouth Partners in Community Service Fellow. She also holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard Divinity School.
A member of the Massachusetts Bar since 2003, Laurie is also admitted to practice law in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the First Circuit.