Laura Norton-Cruz, LMSW, CLC
The About section and each Project section of this website provide information about my background. I also collaborate with other professionals on contracts and love to work on teams that are diverse in terms of perspectives, life experiences, and skills.
I have co-facilitated racial equity dialogues (2011 - 2012) and co-designed and co-led trainings on culture and race (2023) with Warren Mairuk Jones (Yup’ik & Gwich’in) and Mark Anaruk (Iñupiaq). In many of my previous positions and volunteer roles, I have had the fortune to learn from and collaborate closely with Indigenous leaders, Elders, and culture bearers; these experiences have shaped my approach to everything I do. I prefer to collaborate with and share funding with BIPOC colleagues whenever possible.
The Early Childhood in Alaska Documentary Series Team
Photo by Jovell Rennie
Award-winning Filipino-American filmmaker and founder of MANA Alaska, Joshua Albeza Branstetter of Branstetter Film, and I have worked together since 2021 on creative photography and film projects. In 2023, we released “At Home/In Home” about childcare in Kotzebue, and since March 2024, we have been working on a childcare documentary series based on the Kenai Peninsula. In 2025, we are filming and creating a new episode of this series based in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, focused on the Infant Learning Program. We also collaborate on this series with Juneau-based animator Pat Race of Lucid Reverie, and with Anchorage-based Frostline Studios.
Photo by Marissa Lackey