LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Laura MacDonald was nominated by Shaun Johnson, the principal of North Haven Community School.

"I have been an educator for over 25 years, teaching and leading in multiple schools in multiple states. Any experienced educator knows that support staff are the ones that make a school function properly," said Johnson. "Laura, a mother of three of her own children, is often the first person our K-12 students see each morning. Since we are a small island school of only 50 students, all staff members wear multiple hats. Some teachers are also coaches. I teach classes as well as lead. On the other hand, Laura wears multiples upon multiples of hats."

"Laura is our girls' varsity basketball coach, Athletic Director, PTA president, and many of our students' 'second mom,'" said Johnson. "Specifically regarding basketball, as a small school, it is a tremendous challenge to field teams every year. It is also incredibly challenging to organize logistics so our students have an entire season of games. For instance, to play an away game, we must reserve a spot for our bus on a ferry, then travel the 75 minutes it takes to get to the mainland. The bus then travels sometimes two to three hours away to a game. Depending on the ferry schedule, our kids may have to stay overnight in a school gym or local hotel. A similar set of logistics is required if teams come out to us, but it also includes housing and feeding referees for the evening and getting teams back and forth on the ferry."

"I moved to North Haven, Maine, from Washington, DC. Bottom line: I could not do my job without Laura MacDonald. None of us could," said Johnson.