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Member Spotlight: Laurie Schwartz

By Meaghan Dunham Arena

Learn more about the the thing Melissa loves most about our city!

Can you provide a brief background on yourself for those who do not know you? 

My family moved to Charlotte 2 weeks before I started the first grade and I’m still here. A degree in Communications from Winthrop (Go, Eagles!) led to a 26-year career in TV audience research and marketing before finding my dream job in nonprofit fundraising. No one is going to donate money to a nonprofit they don’t know exists to solve a problem they don’t know exists. TV advertising sales was great training for raising awareness and asking people for money! 

What makes our purpose or mission meaningful to you? 

Although I’m retired now, WIF’s mission supporting positive change, particularly for those with less in our community, is still high on my and my husband’s priority list.

What energizes/motivates you? It can be anything from a quotation, a song, a person, workout routine, etc.

Tap dancing energizes me! It’s great exercise; you get to stomp your feet to happy music; and you have to let your worries go if you’re going to make your feet do all that!

What are you the most excited about for this year?

Seeing what new nonprofits apply for WIF funding and their creative answers to our community’s issues.

Advice to make the most out of your Women’s Impact Fund membership?

Don’t sit on the sidelines! Get on a committee or two and roll up your sleeves. You’ll meet some wonderful women who care just as much as you do and learn something in the process.

What is your favorite restaurant or activity in Charlotte?

I love to travel and my husband loves me, so sometimes we go somewhere that’s outside the Carolinas!

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Janet LaBar

Executive Director​
jlabar@womensimpactfund.org

With more than 25 years of experience, Janet has a proven track record of leading organizations and teams in developing strategies that foster thriving communities. Her career is dedicated to the well-being of the places she serves, and the people and businesses within them, positioning her as a trusted sounding board, critical thinker, and purposeful protagonist across corporate, government, education, entrepreneurial, and civic spheres.
Janet joined Women’s Impact Fund in June 2025 to guide one of Charlotte’s most respected, women-led philanthropic organizations into its next phase of growth and impact. In partnership with the Women’s Impact Fund team, Board, Advisors, members, volunteers, and key community partners, she will continue strengthening communities by maximizing women’s leadership in philanthropy through collective giving, education, and engagement.
Inspired by her family, teams who dare greatly, and people and communities striving to be their best selves, Janet’s impactful career includes leadership roles as President and CEO of Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, President and CEO of Greater Portland Inc, and Chief Performance Officer of Greater Phoenix Economic Council. As a first-generation Filipino American, her lived experience deeply informs her professional drive to create equitable economic growth and opportunity in the metro areas she’s served.
She holds a BA in Communication Arts from the University of West Florida and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Phoenix. Janet and her husband James are proud parents to an older daughter, and a daughter and son who are twins.