Laura Elena Fortes is the Administrative & Academic Services Director and Adjunct Instructor at the Department of Performance Studies where she directs all academic and administrative processes. She holds an MA from New York University and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. Laura serves as an academic advisor to M.A. and Ph.D. candidates, leads workshops for both undergraduate and graduate students. 

Her graduate work at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study resides at the intersections of pedagogy, experimental writing, race and ethnicity, feminist theory, and performance studies. Her thesis, Performing Pedagogies of Radical Difference, explored how critical arts pedagogy and performance practices can bring about new social relations within the institution, carving out space for thinking and feeling differently. She is the founding editor of Orature, a journal featuring interviews and conversations with leading artists and theorists in the field of performance studies.