I’m Laura Hine.
I’m a native Floridian, a Navy veteran, and a mom of students in our public schools. I’m honored to serve on the Pinellas County School Board.
What I Believe
I believe in showing up for our communities and our country. The United States is not guaranteed—it is built and rebuilt each day through our choices. With nearly a third of Floridians and over half of veterans identifying as independent, it’s clear people want solutions, not stalemates. I believe in human potential and in leaders who solve problems with strength, stability, and fiscal responsibility while ensuring no one is left behind. Words matter, too. Leadership is not just policy—it’s communication. I am ready to lead with clarity and vision toward a sound, bright, and enduring future for us all.
My Story
My parents, a public school teacher and Vietnam veteran, raised me with a strong sense of citizenship, duty, and community service.
These values propelled me into service. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1997, I served in the Navy for six years as a surface warfare officer, completing two deployments to the Middle East. Upon my return home to Florida in 2003, I joined the construction industry, earning my commercial general contractors license and U.S. Green Building Council LEED AP designation. In 2019, I was asked by Tom James of Raymond James Financial to serve as the The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art’s Executive Director.
Why I Do It
As my now 15 – and 11-year-old children came of age for school, I came alive to the importance of strong public education as vital to our communities and to our country. It’s not enough for education to be excellent for my own children, it must be so for all children.
In 2015, I co-founded the nonprofit Friends of North Shore Elementary, then engaged in leadership through PTA. I was elected to the Pinellas County School Board in 2020 and proudly served two terms as Chair. I have served as Chair of the Pinellas County Health and Human Services Leadership Board, member of the District Safety and Security Committee, Chair of the Pinellas School Transportation Safety Committee, and member of the City of Petersburg Future of Work Task Force. I also continue to serve in the John Hopkins Middle School and St. Petersburg High School’s PTSAs and as a lay reader at our church, St. Thomas Episcopal.