Laura Duran

Laura Duran is a college and career counselor at Los Altos High School, where she has guided students through postsecondary planning since August 2020. She brings more than a decade of Silicon Valley high school counseling experience to her work, blending academic planning, college application support and social emotional learning. Laura is a creative problem solver who integrates restorative justice, wellness and coaching into her counseling practice, making her work both strategic and deeply student-centered. She created a comprehensive Google Site for the College and Career Center, launched an Instagram account for timely updates, and co-presented a session at WACAC 2022 on social-emotional learning in the college process.?

Since 2018, Laura has also operated The New College Plan, a bespoke private college counseling service in the San Francisco Bay Area that offers personalized guidance on applications, writing and admissions strategy. Before joining Los Altos High School, she spent more than ten years as a school counselor in Sequoia Union High School District, where she worked with a caseload of over 350 diverse students, including international and first-generation learners. She co-created the first College and Career Day at Menlo Atherton High School, implemented mindfulness training and growth mindset programs, facilitated 504 accommodation meetings for students with learning differences, and served in elected leadership roles as Vice Chair of the Shared Decision Making Council and Chair of Site Council. From 2019 to 2020, she worked as Senior Customer Success Manager at Cialfo, a college application platform, where she focused on onboarding, training and customer engagement. In late 2023 and early 2024, she served as a college admissions reader for UC Santa Barbara.

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Laura also coached varsity swimming at Castilleja School from 2011 to 2019 and briefly at Sacred Heart Schools in 2019, developing structured, results-driven athletic programs that qualified athletes for regional and state championship meets. Her background in coaching, site governance, sales at Cintas, and customer service at Starbucks reflects her interpersonal skills, organizational strengths and commitment to community. She is passionate about social justice, equity, wellness and advocacy, and approaches her work with a learner mindset focused on collaboration and professional growth.?