Laura Worley Novey is a senior vice president at McGuireWoods Consulting and leads the firm’ national education industry team.
She assists clients with policy and legislative matters with a particular focus on education issues at the state and federal level. She advises clients on a variety of issues, including relationship building, advocacy, coalition building, appropriations requests and legislative support. She also provides strategic advice and guidance to clients in the healthcare, energy and technology industries.
Prior to joining the firm, Laura spent 27 years in public service, including working in leadership roles at two higher education institutions: Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia. Laura also served as the Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia where she led the development and implementation of the Governor’s education priorities and provided guidance to the 16 public universities, the Virginia Community College System, the Department of Education and the state-supported museums, library, and Arts Commission. She also served as deputy secretary of education and as the executive director of the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education Reform, Innovation, and Investment from 2010-2011, which recommended landmark higher education legislation, including greater emphasis on degree attainment, affordability, high demand degrees, innovation, operational efficiency, and autonomy.
McGuireWoods Consulting LLC (“MWC”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the McGuireWoods LLP law firm. From time to time, various McGuireWoods lawyers provide non-legal services to MWC clients, but MWC cannot provide legal services or advice. Therefore, any work MWC performs for a client does not give rise to an attorney-client relationship or privilege. Should you require legal services from McGuireWoods, as well as consulting services from MWC, you must engage the law firm separately.
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityMS
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityBA
- Author, Public Hearings: Title IX Rule and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, McGuireWoods Legal Alert, May 18, 2021
- Author, Coronavirus and Its Impact on Education, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC, March 27, 2020
- Author, Working with State-Based Campaigns to Advance Higher Education Policy, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC, November 13, 2019
- Author, State Emphasis on Early Learning and Trends in Balancing Local Control with State Accountability, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC, October 31, 2019
- Speaker, "Postsecondary Funding – Linking State Higher Education Goals with Postsecondary Funding Opportunities," 2022 Virginia Education Summit, October 28, 2022
- Moderator, Balancing Law, Health and Economics for Early Learning Programs During COVID-19, July 15, 2020
- Speaker, Federal Response to COVID-19 for States and Institutions of Higher Education, April 23, 2020