Laura Billings Coleman
creative content for the common good
Education Coverage
Community Champion
The first Black president of the Minnesota Senate, Bobby Joe Champion ‘87 wants people of color to see themselves in politics By Laura Billings Coleman North Minneapolis and Macalester College are about ten miles apart, but when Bobby Joe Champion ’87 was a student,...
Changing the Scene
For actor, dramaturg, and arts leader Faye Price ’77, theater can play a leading role in promoting social justice. When George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in May 2020 just blocks from the Pillsbury House + Theatre, longtime co-artistic producing director...
Leave No Trace
The artist known as HOTTEA, ‘07, looks for new ways to build on the beauty of impermanence Since graduating from MCAD with a degree in graphic design, HOTTEA (a.k.a. Eric Rieger, ‘07) has built an impressive body of work designed to disintegrate. Whether it’s...
Recommended Reading
Beatlebone by Kevin Barry
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
A Little History of the World by E. H. Gombrich
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
Vivid Faces: The Revolutionary Generation in Ireland, 1890-1923 by RF Foster
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
The Tenth of December by George Saunders
Bio: Laura has been writing for national magazines, newspapers and new media since before it was called "content." A former columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Mademoiselle and Mpls/St. Paul, her reporting and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Outside, Fast Company, SELF, Salon and many other publications.
Fun fact: Laura spent her formative years writing relationship advice in women’s magazines. Ask her anything. She’s here to help.