Laura Mitchell
Laura Mitchell serves as the Executive Director for The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, a private grantmaking organization founded by serial entrepreneur Bob Parsons and his wife and business executive Renee Parsons. Since its inception 9 years ago, the Foundation has granted over $220 million to organizations with the hope to change the lives of our country’s critically wounded veterans and improve outcomes for individuals and families living in poverty.
Laura began her career in accounting and finance after graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of Arizona in 1991. She joined the Big 4 accounting and auditing firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers and earned her CPA license in 1994. Laura served as a Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Audit & Business Advisory Services Group, serving both Fortune 500 and smaller business clients until she left the firm to form her own consulting practice.
As founder of Mitchell Consulting, Laura assisted both small and mid-sized clients with business acquisitions, profitability analysis, cost component reviews and developed recommendations for improving both profitability and business process efficiency.
After accomplishing many of her personal and professional goals, Laura and her husband decided to make a life change, leaving their professional positions for a time to travel around the world for a year, visiting Europe, Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.
Upon returning to the United States, Laura was introduced, on a deeper level, to the non-profit sector. She served as the Chief Financial and Operations Officer for Make-A-Wish Arizona, the founding chapter of the international wish granting organization that grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.
After a combined eight years of service to Make-A-Wish Arizona, Laura left to join The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation as its Executive Director in June 2013. Since that time, she has led the foundation through over $200 million in awarded grants.
Laura has always valued diversity of people and culture as well as service to others. She has served on the board of directors for Hope for Haiti, Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS, UMOM New Day Centers and on advisory committees of the board of directors for Make-A-Wish Arizona and Circle the City.
Laura resides in Scottsdale with her husband and their two daughters, ages 16 and 18.