Laura Vega has been appointed as Principal of Nassau BOCES Long Island High School for the Arts (LIHSA). She will ensure that the school continues to provide world-class industry experience to its students through exciting learning opportunities with a faculty of industry professionals and a full roster of professional artists in residence. Her goal is to prepare students for the future by empowering them to develop skill sets that will enable them to meet the challenges of college and the professional arts world.
She was previously at The Young Women’s Leadership School for 14 years, seven of those as Assistant Principal, where she led school wide initiatives to improve student engagement, create vertically aligned curriculum that improved student achievement, and led the school in restorative justice practices, building community and raising awareness of equity issues.
Prior to education, Vega spent several years in business running her own recruitment firm before moving to NYC where she worked on Wall Street at Merrill Lynch leading Equity Research recruitment for North and South America. Her time in business led to a passion for improving diversity, equity and inclusion practices that improve access to opportunities for traditionally marginalized individuals. She transitioned into educational leadership to continue this important work.
The Long Island High School for the Arts holds special meaning for Vega. She is a California native and a product of a nontraditional high school background as she graduated from high school at the age of 15 and immediately began college and a fulltime job at a Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles where she learned the business of running a successful PAC. She continued working on the business side in the entertainment industry with the movie production companies Activision, the Motion Picture Association, and ABC/Disney.
Vega stems from a family of actors, writers, composers, and artists. Joining LIHSA allows her to combine her personal passion for the arts while leveraging her experience in business and educational leadership while championing the LIHSA mission to provide unparalleled pre professional arts education to a diverse student body, preparing them to reach their highest potential and beyond.
