Laura Engel-Sahr was adopted by Libby Libbinski, a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, with assistance from Peppertree Rescue, a volunteer organization that rescues dogs from New York City animal shelters. Libby served as the creative consultant and inspiration for her book.
Laura lived most of her life near Albany, New York and she now resides near Las Vegas, Nevada with her best friend and husband Les – and of course, Libby. Laura has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the State University of New York and is retired from the New York State Education Department after a 33-year career where she specialized in school safety and disaster preparedness. She was responsible for leading the State Education Department’s work with the New York State Office of Emergency Management from 1998 to 2015. This included coordinating the Education Department’s team in the State Emergency Operation’s Center during major emergencies and disasters. Laura developed numerous articles and guidance documents with law enforcement and emergency management experts on preparing schools for natural, technological, and human-caused disasters, and was a frequent presenter at conferences across New York State.
Laura’s always enjoyed writing, but it wasn’t until she joined the Henderson Writers Group (https://hendersonwritersgroup.com/) that she took the plunge and started sharing her stories. The writers Group gave Laura the confidence to pitch Life Lessons by Libby at the 2020 Las Vegas Writers Conference .
When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys musical theatre and traveling. Laura and Les have been married since 1984. They have one son who lives in Arizona.