Laurie Fenlason serves as the chief public affairs officer of Smith College and counsel to President Kathleen McCartney on matters of institutional strategy and planning, strategic communication, visibility and constituent relations. She oversees the Office of College Relations/Public Affairs, which is responsible for campus communications, media relations, alumnae and development communications, publications, digital communications and social media, special events, community relations and government relations. Her staff also oversees Smith-branded and external summer programs and the Smith College Conference Center.

Prior to Smith, she served in communications roles at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania.

She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and a trustee of Cooley Dickinson Health Care, an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital.