My name is Rev. Laura Nile Tuell and I’m from the forests and mountains of the Pacific Northwest. I was born in Northern California, raised in Oregon, and spent most of my adult life in Washington state. I received my Bachelor’s Christian Scriptures and minor in Psychology at Seattle Pacific University, my Master’s of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary, and Master’s of Business Administration from The Citadel in May 2021. I am an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the PC(USA) and my first call was as an Associate Pastor in Dayton, Ohio for two years. I am also a SHRM-CP Human Resource Professional.

I currently serve as the Pastor of Lakewood Presbyterian Church, a small congregation in Lakewood, Washington. I love ministry in a small church, especially one that has lots of young children and is open and affirming to the LGBTQIA+ community.

I am passionate about social justice work and political advocacy as an expression of my Christian faith. I am committed to environmental, racial, and economic justice and believe in public ministry as my way of living out my calling to display God's love, mercy, and justice in a world desperately in need of it. I do my best to practice intersectional feminism and am always working toward a more inclusive understanding and practice of life.

My husband David and I were married in July 2020 and our family includes our rescue dog, Penny, 1.5 year old son, Jack, and newborn twins Eli and Viola. It is certainly a full and busy life! In our short time being married, we’ve lived in Ohio, Northern California, and finally, Tacoma, Washington. We hope to be here to stay for the long haul! We live in the Hilltop neighborhood of Tacoma and enjoy getting to know our neighbors and making our home here.

When I am not pastoring or parenting (which, admittedly, is rarely these days) I enjoy gardening, playing NYT word games, playing board games, and listening to Taylor Swift’s entire discography. I also love to travel and hope to visit all the US states and continents someday (just 1 and 2 to go, respectively).