FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
Laura Schreiber has risen from Defense Logistics Agency intern to program manager using strategy, focus, education and hard work combined with DLA’s continuing education and career development opportunities.
Schreiber leads DLA Research and Development’s Acquisition Modernization Technology Research program, created in 2021 to identify acquisition processes that could benefit from modernization and recommend research efforts.
The former student intern launched her career in DLA Finance while attending Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. Upon earning a bachelor’s degree in business management in 2010, she was offered a full-time position through the two-year Financial Accreditation and Skills Training Track Program.
“When I decided to pursue my master’s in business administration, DLA offered tuition assistance and my supervisors were very flexible with my schedule,” Schreiber said.
After earning her MBA from Virginia Tech in 2015, Schreiber continued taking advantage of DLA-supported management and certificate programs. She’s worked as a financial management advisor, management and program analyst, and now a program manager.
As an avid runner and triathlete, Schreiber is inspired by Katherine Switzer, the first woman to register and run in the Boston Marathon in 1967. Switzer registered using her initials to keep race officials from knowing she was a woman. Officials tried physically removing her at the start of the race, but Switzer pressed on and completed the marathon.
“Like Switzer, I feel a sense of empowerment completing races and I can’t imagine my life without it. She is such a great role model,” Schreiber said.
For Schreiber, Women’s History Month is a time to reflect on the contributions women have made throughout the years.
“There were several goals I wanted to independently accomplish prior to marriage, including earning my MBA and becoming a homeowner,” she said. “These may sound like small feats, but 70 years ago my grandmother didn’t have the luxury and resources available to accomplish them.”
Schreiber added that she couldn’t have imagined as a college intern how DLA would shape her life.
“I’ve met so many wonderful people along the way and we have watched each other grow personally and professionally. This goes to show, for me, DLA is family,” she said.