ECEA Board of Directors Profile
Laura Hazen
Ireland, Stapleton, Pryor & Pascoe, P.C.
lhazen@irelandstapleton.com
POSITION: Director, Ireland Stapleton Pryor & Pascoe, PC
CITY OF RESIDENCE: Centennial, CO
BIRTHPLACE: Minneapolis, MN
RELATIONSHIP TO CHILD CARE FIELD: My parents were both public school teachers, as is one of my sisters. My second sister worked with a large center in Minneapolis for years. Both of my daughters are in group care and have been since they were 8 weeks old.
FAMILY: I married my husband Drew 5 years ago, and we have 2 daughters, Greta (8 months) and Julia (3 years).
HOBBIES OR INTERESTS: I love to cook (and am currently looking for new baby food combinations if anyone has any) and run with my husband, friends and trusty husky dog Beta.
GOAL FOR ECEA: I joke about "loving the law" but it really is my goal to help the members of the ECEA become more educated consumers of legal services. Finding a lawyer you trust is so important, and learning the right questions to ask is half of the battle. If my lectures, articles and unsolicited admittedly flip comments help ECEA members take charge of the legal and regulatory process then I have done my job.
VISION FOR CHILD CARE: I would like to prevent the crisis of child care (or the lack of child care) in Colorado from becoming more acute. Good child care should be a basic right of the children and parents of Colorado. I would like to play a role in working with Licensing and other state agencies to remind them of the human, day to day reality of providing care. Care givers / educators do not provide services in a vacuum and if I can work with agencies to help them understand what is really important – keeping kids safe – then I will have succeed.
OTHER THOUGHTS OR WORDS OF WISDOM: If I am going to spend 8-10 hours away from my adorable babies every day, I can not think of a better group of people to spend it with than early childhood educators. You all do the good work, I am just along for the ride.