Laura Bailet

Dr. Bailet earned her B.A. at Wake Forest University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She is a licensed school psychologist and assistant professor, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. She has expertise on a wide range of learning problems, including dyslexia and autism. She established and directed the Neurocognitive Assessment Program within the Division of Neurology at Nemours Children’s Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla., for 18 years before creating the Nemours BrightStart! initiative at the request of the Nemours Board of Directors. Dr. Bailet is a strong believer that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. She is the driving force behind Nemours BrightStart!’s innovative program to promote reading success and prevent reading failure, by combining the fields of neuroscience, population health, child development, and education to create powerful tools that level the playing field for all budding readers. She has conducted research and published numerous journal articles and book chapters. The Florida Times-Union selected her as the top “Change Agent” in 2006. She was the 2006 recipient of Jacksonville’s EVE Award and 2015 recipient of the Jacksonville Business Journal’s “Women of Influence” award. She is currently a member of the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Board and several FL task forces.