Laura Brod (née Morris; born December 11, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and former politician having been an elected at-large member of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...

, and a former member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

who represented District 25A, which includes portions of Le Sueur,

Scott Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Sas ...

and Sibley counties in the south central part of the state.

Background and education

Brod graduated from New Prague High School in New Prague. She received her

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in Geography and Russian Area Studies summa cum laude and phi beta kappa from the

, and later attended

Minnesota State University Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 145,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

, earning her

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Urban and Regional Studies. A small business owner, she served on the New Prague City Council from 1999-2002. She married her now ex-husband, Wade, in 1994. The Brods later divorced in 2012 and remain friends. Brod married Adam Hameed in 2018. Mr. Hameed is a healthcare tech executive and together they have 6 children.

Service in the Minnesota House

A Republican, Brod was first elected to the House in 2002, and was re-elected in 2004, 2006 and 2008. She was a member of the House Finance Committee, the Health Care and Human Services Policy and Oversight Committee, and the Taxes Committee. She also served on the Finance Subcommittee for the Health Care and Human Services Finance Division. She served as an assistant majority leader in 2006, and as an assistant minority leader during the 2007-2008 biennium. On May 4, 2010, she announced that she would not seek a fifth term, stating that it was her belief "that the time for others to serve in the Legislature for our district has come, and my time to find other challenges and ways to contribute is upon me."

University of Minnesota regent

Brod and former Minnesota House Speaker

Steve Sviggum Steven A. Sviggum (born September 15, 1951) is a Minnesota politician, a former member of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, and an executive assistant to and communications director for the Republican caucus in the Minnesota Senate. ...

were elected to the University of Minnesota's Board of Regents on February 21, 2011, by a joint meeting of the Minnesota House and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. She serves a six-year term on the 12-member body, which is charged with overseeing the University of Minnesota system.

Gubernatorial considerations

Brod was considered a leading gubernatorial candidate to succeed retiring Gov.

Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty ( ; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served from 2003 to 2011 as the 39th governor of Minnesota. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House ...

, but withdrew from the race due to medical concerns. She has not ruled out running at a later time.Brod pulls out of GOP gubernatorial race -- for now
/ref>

Biotech Executive

Due to her personal experience with cancer, Brod entered the world of Biotech as the CEO of Genesegues Therapeutics. Genesegues, Inc. had developed a precision targeted anti-cancer drug aimed at head and neck cancer and other cancers. As CEO, Brod scaled the company and brought in angel funding. During the development of the platform crystalline ultra-small nanoparticle (CUSP) for Genesegues, the technology was licensed into a spin-off company called RoverMed BioSciences. Brod became CEO of RoverMed and developed the strategy and led funding acquisition for the company. RoverMed intended to use the platform drug delivery technology to deliver drugs from other biotechs and pharmaceutical companies. RoverMed's technology was acquired. Brod subsequently joined the Columbus Children's Foundation (CCF) as Executive Director. CCF is a novel nonprofit biotech with the mission of accelerating the most effective gene therapy treatments for children with ultra rare genetic diseases. CCF was one of the first nonprofit biotechs in the gene therapy space with the desire to ensure no children are left behind when science can put a cure in reach. CCF is focused on ensuring equitable access to affordable genetic medicine to children throughout the world.

References

External links

Rep. Brod Web Page

Minnesota Public Radio Votetracker: Rep. Laura Brod

Project Votesmart - Rep. Laura Brod Profile

Laura Brod Campaign Web Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brod, Laura 1971 births Living people Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni People from New Prague, Minnesota University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Women state legislators in Minnesota 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Minnesota Legislature