Laura Ligouri

Ligouri was born in NJ to Puerto Rican and Sicilian parents. She is the Executive Director and Founder of Mindbridge, a not-for-profit organization working to transform the impact of local, national and international human rights work by integrating psychological and neurobiological applied research (www.mindbridgecenter.org). Her interest in neuroscience and human rights emerged at the Saxelab Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at MIT, investigating the cognitive foundations of discrimination & violence. Ligouri has partnered with organizations on five continents linking neuropsychology to the healing of trauma and prevention of future conflict. In addition to teaching neuroscience and psychology at the University of Southern Maine, Ligouri is also completing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a neuropsychology and social justice concentration.