Laurie Olsen

Laurie Olsen

Dr. Laurie Olsen is the author of Mary and the Church at Vatican II: The Untold Story of Lumen Gentium VIII (Emmaus Road, 2024). The book is fruit of years-long in-depth research into the records of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council preserved in the Apostolic Archives of the Vatican, as well as in the personal archives in Rome and Belgium of key players.

She earned her bachelor of science degree from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University before launching a successful career in public relations. She served as vice president and director of creative services for what was then the world’s largest public relations agency before becoming director of communications for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

While serving as a communications consultant for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) – a role she continues today – she earned her bachelor’s, master’s, licentiate, and doctoral degrees in sacred theology from Rome’s Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (a.k.a. the Angelicum). Dr. Olsen is a member of the Mariological Society of America and was the keynote speaker at its 2024 annual meeting.