Laura Cross

Lieutenant Colonel Laura Sanchez Cross is a Belfer National Security Fellow Alumni class of 2024 and an Active Duty Guard Reserve Military Intelligence officer. She is a first-generation Cuban American who hails from New Jersey and received her commission from the Reserve Officer Training Corps at Boston College in 2004.

LTC Cross has commanded at the Company and Battalion level. In addition, she has served in several key staff positions from Platoon to Division as well as state levels both on Active Duty and the Texas Army National Guard. During her military career, she deployed overseas to Baghdad, Iraq and Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. Notably, she completed an overseas tour as the G2 or Senior Intelligence Officer for the 36th Infantry Division, which was headquartered in Kuwait and responsible for the intelligence analysis for 9 countries across the Middle East. Most recently, LTC Cross was the Chief Legislative Officer at the Joint Forces Headquarters for the Texas Military Department. In this role she educated state and federal elected officials on the unique mission of today’s military in addition to the effects policies and laws have on Texas Army and Air National Guard Service Members. She is currently the Chief of Plans, Strategy, Force Management and International Affairs for the Texas Military Department.

LTC Cross holds a Master’s of Science in Technology Commercialization from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Her undergraduate study included a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and International Studies from Boston College located in Chestnut Hill, MA.