Laura L. Monica
Laura Monica is president and founder of High Point Communications Group, Inc. Laura works with a wide variety of clients in both the public and private sector and assists clients in developing and implementing comprehensive and strategic communications plans.
Laura has over 18 years of executive-level communications management experience, including 13 years as CEO/president of High Point Communications Group. Laura has extensive experience in designing, developing, implementing and measuring public relations campaigns around a wide array of complex, often controversial, issues and has demonstrated expertise in project management on multi-million dollar communications projects that utilize such integrated communications tactics as public relations, community outreach, advertising, media and presentation skills training, collateral development, Web site development, events and promotions.
Prior to forming High Point in 1991, Laura spent five years with Numerica Financial Corporation in Manchester, N.H., as senior vice president in charge of all internal and external corporate communications activities including marketing, advertising, public relations, media relations, community relations, shareholder relations and employee communications. Prior to joining Numerica, Laura’s career was focused in the area of corporate finance.
Laura has extensive experience with the media and has appeared nationally on PBS, CNN and C-SPAN, as well as locally on WMUR-TV, WENH-TV and numerous radio stations throughout New England. Laura is active in many civic and community organizations. She is a past chairman of the board of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, past chairman of Leadership New Hampshire, past chairman of the Greater Manchester American Red Cross, past chairman of the Leadership Greater Manchester program, past executive board member of the Greater Manchester United Way, former board member of the American Cancer Society N.H. Division and former director of the National Association of Security Dealers, New England Regional Council. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, and a former member of the Bank Investor Relations Association and the National Investor Relations Institute.
She was appointed by Governor Hugh Gallen in 1982 to the Task Force on Discrimination in State Government, was appointed by Governor John Sununu to the Health Insurance Advisory Council in 1988, served on the Jobs and Economy Transition Team at the request of Governor Benson in 2003, and was appointed by Senate President Thomas Eaton to the Commission to Assess the Operating Efficiency of N.H. State Government in 2003. She was appointed by the United States Small Business Administration in 2003 to the Regional Fairness Board for New England. She is a former board member of the Society for the Protection of N.H. Forests and the Endowment for Health. She currently sits on the executive committee of the board of directors for the N.H. Business and Industry Association (BIA) and is a board member with Hands Across the Merrimack.
In 2001, Laura was presented with the “Small Business Person of the Year” award by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. Also in 2001, High Point Communications Group was recognized by Business NH Magazine as “One of the Ten Best Companies to Work for in New Hampshire.” The company won this award again in October 2003 and has recently been honored as the magazine’s 2004 “Best Small Company to Work for in NH.” High Point was recognized in 2001 with a first-place award from the Maryland Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for work on that state’s consumer education campaign on electric restructuring. In 2002, Laura was awarded the prestigious “New Hampshire Small Business Person of the Year Award” presented by the United States Small Business Administration, and in 2003 was awarded the “Business of the Year Award” in the Business Services Category presented by Business NH Magazine and the State Chamber of Commerce Executives. In 2004, Laura was awarded the New Hampshire Business Review Business Excellence Award for Excellence in Media & Marketing and the company was a finalist at the Better Business Bureau of NH’s 2004 Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics. Laura is an active and engaged member of the business community, as is the firm she leads.
Laura graduated with a B.A. in 1979 and a Masters in Public Administration in 1980, both from the University of New Hampshire. She has been a guest lecturer in the areas of marketing and communications for the University of New Hampshire as well as for Franklin Pierce College.
Laura lives in Bow, N.H. with her husband and twin, sixteen year-old daughters.