Laurie Patton

Laurie is an ESL Teacher at Open Door Lake Street. Her teaching career began in high school, as a flute teacher and professional musician for over 15 years, primarily with the Children’s Theatre Company. Following that, she worked with publishing companies in the Chicago and Bay Areas, and spent the last 20+ years in business development with an HR Consulting firm in Minneapolis. After leaving the corporate world in 2015, Laurie discovered her passion for ESL when she began volunteering as a teacher with Open Door Northside. This also perfectly matched her ever-present desire to help others. She gained experience by substitute teaching and volunteering at more schools locally, while earning a TEFL Certificate from Hamline and both a teaching license in ABE and Masters in Education from the University of Minnesota. Laurie continues to volunteer at Northside and is also a Navigator and substitute Citizenship and Burlington English teacher with Literacy Minnesota. She still plays flute and coproduces and hosts a music television series featuring Minnesota musicians.