Laurie, like so many Californians, wasn’t born here. She visited California multiple times as a child, and it was during those trips she knew she wanted to live here as soon as she could. Laurie was born in Wisconsin, where she and her three brothers and one sister were raised by her parents Richard and Lois Davies. Her parents instilled in her the value of hard work and the importance of family. After graduating high school, she worked for a year, and in 1981 after saving enough money to buy a Cutlass Supreme, she moved west to attend Cal State Long Beach.