A creative and versatile business leader, Lora brings over 25 years of experience in entrepreneurship and organizational growth, as well as a strong track record in advancing public charter schools through strategic fundraising and dedicated volunteer leadership. 

Guided by her entrepreneurial spirit, Lora has co-founded and invested in seven diverse ventures over the past three decades spanning publishing, professional organizing, vacation rentals, residential real-estate development and high-tech innovation – including a wireless radio frequency filter company that went public on the NASDAQ and was later acquired by SpaceX.

Lora got her first taste of entrepreneurship at just 10 years old, cooking hushpuppies in her family’s Charlotte restaurant. Locals may remember her from 1980s commercials for the Calabash Cove on Central Avenue. Her parents instilled in her a deep understanding of small business operations – from advertising and marketing to accounting and payroll. By the age of 17, she was running the front of the house, managing more than 20 employees, and overseeing the restaurant’s operations.

A proud graduate of the public school system, she left Independence High School for UNC Chapel Hill, balancing her studies with weekends spent helping run her family’s business. In the early 1990s, she paused her studies to move to California, where she continued her love for marketing as an advertising manager in the hospitality industry for four years. Determined to finish her education, she returned to college and completed her journalism degree from California State University Northridge in 1996.

In the late 1990s, Lora embraced her most cherished role as a mother, which also opened the door to her current-day calling for mentoring students and volunteerism. Her family joined the Children’s Community School in 2003 – now known as the Community School of Davidson – where two of her children still remain connected 22 years later. Lora became the charter school’s first fundraising chairperson and played a pivotal role in its early years as a newly formed charter school. From 2004 to 2007, she spearheaded capital campaigns that were critical for the school’s growth and facility expansion.  

When Lora isn’t envisioning her next venture, she treasures time with her life partner Clive, her seven children (four by birth, three by marriage) ages 15 to 27, and her beloved standard poodles. A lifelong equestrian, she has been showing and riding American Saddlebred horses since the age of three. She also enjoys ballroom dancing and continues to deepen her passion for personal growth by studying psychology and relationships, most recently under two of her favorite experts, Jayson Gaddis and Meghan Tuohy.