Laura is the proud Owner and Founder of ReefGen™, a wholesale coral and fish aquaculture company in Long Island, NY.  ReefGen is dedicated to propagating a diverse selection of coral frags in collaboration with the Long Island Aquarium and Exhibition Center and its world-renowned 20,000G reef tank run by Joe Yaiullo.  When not behind her desk running the business, Laura’s focus and passion at ReefGen has been breeding a variety of cuttlefish including Stumpy, Flamboyant, Officinalis cuttles, and most recently, the rare Pajama Squid!  All of ReefGen’s cephalopods and frags are distributed through aquarium retailers, e-tailers, and service companies across the country.  Laura has successfully bred eight generations of Stumpy Cuttlefish and looks forward to increasing the distribution of all of these unique captive bred invertebrates across the country!

Laura has been devoted to her career in the reef aquarium industry for over 16 years and has been a fish keeper for most of her life.  In addition to her internship at the Steinhart Aquarium, Laura has worked on many sides of the trade including aquarium retail, wholesale and manufacturing. Laura co-owned a reef aquarium shop in Bellingham, Washington while earning her B.S. in Marine Biology at Western Washington University. She also served as the Vice President of the Long Island Reef Association for several years. Laura enjoys conducting experiments in the reef hobby with a focus of research on the success rates of dry shipped marine invertebrates and coral.  She also adores skiing, drawing, endless home remodeling, and beach days on Long Island with her new family, courtesy of Joe Yaiullo.