Home - Laura Anne Jones

Not all classrooms have four walls

What makes me

Laura is a global health executive with a clinical background in emergency medicine, infectious diseases and disaster response. For more than a decade, she has led large-scale global health programmes and humanitarian operations in some of the world’s most fragile and high-risk environments, working with the UN, WHO, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and international NGOs, including Save the Children International.

Laura has worked on the frontline across humanitarian, conflict and disaster-affected settings in Asia (Nepal and Bangladesh), East Africa (Uganda), Central and Southern Africa (Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa), and Central and South America (Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Ecuador). Most recently, she led medical evacuation operations and trauma stabilisation efforts in Gaza.

Laura’s work also brings together health systems, urban policy and resilience, drawing on experience in Vice Chair and strategic advisory board roles to advise governments, organisations and global platforms on embedding population health and human resilience into strategy, policy, investment and infrastructure. Collaborations include FC Barcelona, Mobile World Congress, Smart City World Congress and LEAP.

Laura was named Forbes Business Leader in 2025 and 2026 and awarded Fellowship of the Faculty of Remote, Rural and Humanitarian Healthcare (FRRHH ) by the Royal College of Surgeons for her contribution to rural, remote and humanitarian healthcare globally.

What I can offer

The Adventurer

The Humanitarian

The Connector

Behind the scenes

What people say about me

I met Laura in Riyadh at LEAP, and somewhere between our first conversation and the fourth hour of an “unexpectedly long” breakfast, I became something of a Laura Jones fan. What makes Laura remarkable isn’t simply the impressive résumé or the extraordinary places her work has taken her. It is her combination of courage, humanity, curiosity and an almost infectious sense of purpose. She has chosen to work where vulnerability isn’t an academic concept but something people live every day, including on the humanitarian frontlines, and somehow carries those experiences without losing either her optimism or her ability to laugh. Our conversations fundamentally tweaked how I think about cities and infrastructure. Laura made me see that inclusion and vulnerability shouldn’t be problems we mitigate after designing a system; they should be inputs into the design itself. That idea has stayed with me. I came away from Riyadh inspired by Laura’s work, enriched by her friendship, and firmly enrolled in the Laura Jones fan club. To put it mildly, Membership to this elite club is coveted and highly recommended.

Andy Palanisamy Mobility & Infrastructure | Innovation & Technology | Education & Entrepreneurship | Public Policy | Harvard Kennedy School MPA

Laura is an exceptional leader with the strategic vision and judgment to navigate complexity and drive impact at scale. From my experience across government, innovation, and international organizations, I know how rare it is to find leaders who can bridge institutions, build trusted partnerships, and turn ambitious ideas into action. Laura’s strength lies in her ability to create alignment and momentum around a shared purpose. I have seen her challenge conventional thinking, bring clarity to complex decisions, and translate strategy into execution, while building the culture and partnerships that enable people and ideas to thrive. It has been a privilege to work alongside Laura and to mentor her. I have tremendous respect for her integrity, leadership, and the contribution she continues to make. I recommend her without hesitation.

Natalia Olson-Urtecho Obama Administration Presidential Appointee | High-Impact Transformation & Business Growth Executive | Strategy & Innovation | Bridging Government, Corporate Investment & Technology

Laura combines intellectual rigour with sound judgement and real-world perspective. She uses her experience to ask the right questions, weigh the evidence carefully and reach conclusions that hold up under pressure. These are the qualities needed when navigating complex, high-stakes challenges, and I have consistently seen her bring clarity to situations where others saw only complexity. What stands out about Laura is her ability to translate her extensive experience in health and humanitarian settings into strategic insight that people can act on. She can move seamlessly between frontline realities and the bigger picture of institutional and economic impact. She brings a rare, grounded understanding of human capital and resilience as genuine drivers of long-term value. These are factors she has seen play out directly in the field. That perspective is increasingly relevant as organisations look beyond financial metrics to understand what actually sustains performance and stability over time. I was glad to serve as a mentor to Laura and recommend her without reservation.

Roger Ohan Author of The Ledger | Creator of the Gross National Assets (GNA) Framework | Global Finance & Sovereign Wealth Strategist | Former J.P. Morgan Executive

Laura and I have collaborated together on health and wellbeing projects since we both joined Save the Children International in March 2020. Highly qualified, dedicated and capable, Laura has the clarity of mind to create a vision of the framework SCI needed to establish in order to effectively support our staff, wherever they are located (which is often on the front line in conflict or disaster scenarios). I really enjoy working with Laura; her passion and energy are put to good use navigating the complex world of SCI, and she has done a fantastic job in pulling together the various disparate elements of staff health and wellbeing that were already in existence, and augmenting that with a cohesive strategy, leadership and a network of focal points to support delivery. While very easy to engage with (and often very funny), Laura confidently offers alternative perspectives, either challenging the status quo or providing well-grounded insights to help shape policy initiatives. On a personal level, I find Laura compassionate and empathetic; I recently went through a challenging period, following a bereavement in my close family, and Laura regularly checked in with me to see how I was feeling, or maybe just for a WhatsApp chat on a Friday night, when she must have had more exciting options available. She was really supportive, and I will always appreciate her kindness.

Neil Hunt Global Director of Insurance | Save the Children International

Laura is one of those people who has her own light and has the power to make those around her find their own light. Tireless, non-conformist, I still don't understand where she gets so much energy with the few hours she sleeps. Always ready to be at the forefront of those issues that deserve to change, dedicating her time and passion to open doors, to meet challenges, and most importantly, to make possible what at first may seem impossible. She has an energetic vision that allows her to offer a different prism, an ability to see through another perspective but always keeping in mind the focus and the path to follow. Laura is a lighthouse. In all this journey, she also has the innate ability to guide the team along the way, knowing how to give space to each one through their own learning, delegating responsibilities but always with her hand close to go together towards the goal. Show her a barrier and she will break it down. Laura is the mix between a person who develops a professional profile with many years of experience on her back, but always supported by an impressive and close human character that you want to surround yourself with. Wherever Laura has been, you will undoubtedly be able to see her mark.

Miriam Guma Ambassador | Almas Libres

Laura is a great teacher. With all the experience she has gained over the years in the humanitarian field, she was able to provide insight and explain in detail the strengths and weaknesses of the humanitarian system, as well as the risks and opportunities of working in humanitarian aid. It was an honour to be taught by her. I cannot recommend her enough as a teacher.

Noemi Welsch Student | MSC World Extreme Medicine | Doctor