Laurel Stavis has been a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives since 2018. Now in her fourth term, she serves as Ranking Member of the Municipal & County Government Committee. She has sponsored or cosponsored legislation relating to affordable housing, town and county governance, land use law, master planning, and numerous other issues. Representative Stavis was prime sponsor in 2023 of HB42, a bill that protects homeowners associations from corporate takeover. HB42 was signed into law in July 2024. She chaired a  Subcommittee related to short-term rentals and was appointed a member of a Study Commission on zoning for tiny houses. She was a featured speaker at the New Hampshire Association of Counties inaugural annual conference in 2024.

A Democrat who believes that New Hampshire deserves efficient and effective government, Representative Stavis has spoken in  support of policies and legislation that preserve the State’s competitive advantage, its natural beauty, and the wellbeing of its residents. She works effectively across the aisle. In 2025, she will craft broad-based bipartisan legislation focused on addressing New Hampshire’s current housing shortage / housing affordability crisis.

She was a member of the Lebanon Planning Board from 2017 to 2024 and currently serves on  the West Lebanon Revitalization AdvisoryCommittee. A longtime resident of historic West Lebanon, she continues to work with City and State officials towards remediating the Westboro Railyard and finding new uses for the land that will bring economic vitality to the city.

Representative Stavis was Chair of the LISTEN Community Services Board of Directors from 2012 through 2022, one of the leading providers of social support services in the Upper Valley. As chair, she oversaw a doubling of the services provided to community members in need, successfully negotiated the purchase and rehabilitation of LISTEN’s new flagship thrift store, and led an initiative to increase pay and benefits for all LISTEN employees.

Formerly an Assistant Provost at Dartmouth College, she was honored with the Institute of International Education’s Outstanding Service Award, helped to establish the first private liberal arts university in Kuwait, and led a multi-year USAID program on transforming higher education in Kosovo. She is also a longtime public relations professional, having led the communications functions at both Dartmouth and Wellesley colleges.

A graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, Ms. Stavis performs with several chamber music groups in the Upper Valley.