Dance Department Chair Laura Ward-Moran is the recipient of the Maryland Dance Education Association (MDEA) 2022 Dance Educator of the Year.

“I have devoted my life’s work to dance as a student, performer, and teacher,” she said.

After college, she started teaching dance and was a performer until she was 27. She has taught in public schools, private schools, and colleges throughout her career.

Mrs. Ward-Moran has been teaching dance for the past 25 years, and for 15 of those years, she ran her own dance studio. When she sold her studio, she dabbled in real estate while guest teaching Pilates and dance before joining the John Carroll community in 2016.

Since then, she has implemented the College Preparatory Dance Program, which Mrs. Ward-Moran described as “a conservatory level dance program in an academic setting.”

To receive this award, Mrs. Ward-Moran had to be nominated by someone in the dance field.

After she was nominated, she had to submit three professional Letters of Recommendation, a student recommendation, her resume, and a philosophy statement about dance education.
Mrs. Ward-Moran commented that she was “honored to hear that [she] was selected as the recipient.”