Laura Bauer - Vice President & Controller
Ms. Bauer joined SDS in 2009 in the dual roles of Vice President and Controller, overseeing accounting for all divisions and subsidiaries, and senior manager, guiding growth and providing strategic direction to the company. Ms. Bauer has also developed the internal operational infrastructure to manage the National New Markets Fund, LLC, an allocation of federal tax credits for real-estate projects in low-income communities. She is engaged in all aspects of this process from application, project analysis, and deployment to management of the accounting and compliance required for regulatory alignment.
Ms. Bauer is passionate about making a positive impact on high poverty communities and has a strong interest in community development. Most recently, she began her mission-driven path as a consultant for Excellent Education, managing the New Markets Tax Credits, acting as the CFO for charter schools, and providing much needed academic organizations with the initial foundation to develop fiscal strength.
Prior to engaging in this work, Ms. Bauer spent 12 years in upper-level management as a results-driven finance and portfolio operations executive, successfully managing over $2 billion of assets, providing quantitative modeling, minimizing risk exposure, and strengthening internal controls.
Ms. Bauer has a proven ability to identify profit drivers and forecast earnings while communicating critical information to senior management. She also creates strategies for internal improvement that translates into quantifiable results, including multimillion-dollar asset growth. She is a recognized change agent with a documented ability to lead complex, restructuring activities, validated by several years of her service to three large proven companies: Ryland Homes, Wilshire Associates, and Trust Company of the West.
Ms. Bauer received her MBA from the University of Southern California and her BA from the University of California, Los Angeles, in Economics. She was a member of the Latino Business Association, MECHA, and Alpha Kappa Psi, and continues her efforts to engage in the Trojan network.
Ms. Bauer has a special passion for underserved communities. One of seven children, a first-generation Hispanic raised in Pacoima. Her first language is Spanish. Early on she achieved academic success in being able to count herself as one of a small fraction of LAUSD students to attain a college degree. As a result, she engages in special projects to assist public charter schools toward fiscal responsibility and success. Through the Minority Business program, Ms. Bauer mentored incoming freshman and was involved in her employers' mentoring programs.
In addition, Ms. Bauer is active and involved with her three daughters' extracurricular activities and tutors them in their academic careers.
Ms Bauer has traveled throughout Mexico, Western Europe, Central & South America, and China, and has committed to visiting each state of the union; she is 50% complete. Ms. Bauer has completed the LA Marathon and is an avid hiker.