Laura first took on the nickname “Sparks” while she was studying astrophysics at UCSC. After graduating with her physics degree in 2003, Laura earned her M.Ed. in secondary education at UC San Diego. She next taught Physics, Geometry, Algebra, and Precalculus at the highschool level, commuting down to Murrietta, CA while living with her husband, Danie Zieber on Palomar Mountain. Joining up with the Palomar Mountain Volunteer Fire Department, Station 97, Laura served her community as a firefighter from 2005-2009.
After moving back into the bay area in 2010 to start a family, Laura worked briefly teaching math online and as a math lesson blogger for the National Repository of Online Courses before settling into a role as a science outreach educator for the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, she worked with them to bring science lessons to elementary students and preschools in underserved communities.
During the Covid shutdown, Laura and her family settled once again in Santa Cruz and Laura leaned into her passion for art by exploring writing and illustrating children’s books as well as leading drawing sessions online for children.
When given the opportunity to join the Santa Cruz Waldorf School and return to the role of math teacher in a school that highly values art and community, Laura leapt at the chance. She plans to work with her colleagues to kindle the mathematical imagination of their students for years to come.
