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 and colleagues from other systematically marginalized groups 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 released “ILP,” a short documentary based in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, focused on the Infant Learning Program, and “Growing the Kenai: Childcare Licensing,” which takes place throughout the Kenai Peninsula and focuses on childcare. Our films can be viewed on our series’ Vimeo Showcase. 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