Contact Information:
Office: (239)-949-6262
[email protected]

Laura Carr is a proud thirty-year resident of Bonita Springs and has served the community as a City Council Member for the past seven years. Before entering public service, Laura built a distinguished academic and professional career. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder and earned her graduate degree from Boston College. She taught sociology at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and later at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. She subsequently moved into the private sector, where she served as an Editor and Director of Special Projects at a publishing house, and is a published author, herself.

She currently chairs the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), serving as a voting member for five years, and also chairs the Metropolitan Planning Organization Executive Committee (MEC) as a three-year voting member. She additionally serves on the Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Committee (MPOAC) as a voting member.

Laura also serves on The Horizon Council and has for the last four years. She is aalso enjoying becoming more active with the Horizon Foundation and the Lee County Economic Development Office.

Laura has served as Liaison to the League of Florida Cities for three years, continues to attend Bonita Springs Fire Commissioner Board meetings, and has served as the liaison to the Bonita Springs Utilities Board (BSU) for seven years and liaison to Fort Myers Beach for one year. Previous Council roles have included Liaison to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, the Bonita Springs Fire Department, the Historical Preservation Board, and the Special Events Committee.

A graduate of Leadership Bonita, Laura is an active member of The Downtown Alliance, WonderGardens, the Bonita Springs Historical Society, and the Bonita Springs Short Film Festival. Laura and family are Lifetime Members of Lovers Key and the Discovery Center. Her husband, Arnold Haake, is a Vietnam veteran and graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, who founded and led a community bank in Southwest Florida. Together they raised their son Nick in Bonita Springs, and through their blended family share two additional sons and their families, a daughter and her family, and eight wonderful grandchildren. Laura's mother, Rita, also called Bonita Springs home for over twenty years.

Above all, Laura is honored to serve the residents of District 3 and all of Bonita Springs the community that has been her home for over twenty-five years.