Laura Mansfield--Executive Vice President

Laura joined the Fletcher team in 2016 to lead strategic public relations campaigns, brand advocacy and media relations efforts. She is also the social media columnist for Knoxville News Sentinel. Prior to joining Fletcher, Laura was principal and founder of Spica Communications, a PR consulting firm whose clients included Zoo Knoxville and TeamHealth, a national provider of physician outsourcing.

Previously, Laura was executive director of public relations for The Tombras Group, a $90 million digital-centric advertising agency, where she was responsible for PR, reputation management and crisis communications for a blue-chip roster of national, regional and local clients. Laura built Tombras' social media division from scratch into a multi-million dollar revenue stream, developing cross-channel opportunities for Tombras clients including Farm Bureau Insurance Tennessee, McDonald’s and Bristol Motor Speedway.

Before joining Tombras, Laura spent a decade, as vice president of corporate communications for Edfinancial Services, a $10 billion national student loan service provider. She guided Edfinancial and sister company Edamerica through a restructuring, rebranding and name change and handled media relations during the industry’s transition from the private to the public sector.

Laura graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in English and an MBA in finance. She has taught as an adjunct instructor in advertising and public relations at both the University of Tennessee and Pellissippi State. Laura holds the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) designation from PRSA. She is a past president of both PRSA's Volunteer Chapter and the Knoxville American Marketing Association (KAMA).