Laura Butler, VC University Certificate – Berkeley Law

Laura P. Butler is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Pioneers 21, a nationally recognized innovation hub and venture development organization based in El Paso, Texas. With more than 25 years of executive leadership spanning corporate banking, entrepreneurship, innovation ecosystems, and nonprofit governance, she has dedicated her career to helping founders transform ideas into scalable companies through mentorship, strategic partnerships, and access to capital.

Prior to joining Pioneers 21, Laura spent nearly two decades at Wells Fargo, where she advanced through progressive leadership roles, culminating as National Small Business Vice President. She led enterprise-wide initiatives focused on small business strategy, leadership development, business growth, and capital access, building extensive expertise in finance, risk management, and organizational leadership.

As CEO, Laura has transformed Pioneers 21 into a high-impact innovation hub supporting more than 1,400 entrepreneurs annually and over 250 ventures. She developed venture-building frameworks that integrate customer discovery, business model validation, accelerator programming, MIT Venture Mentoring investor readiness, and commercialization, creating structured pathways that prepare founders to build investment-ready companies. Under her leadership.

Laura is the founder of the P21 Venture Mentoring Service, an MIT-licensed Venture Mentoring Service and one of only 139 programs worldwide. She is also a founding member of the Texas Venture Alliance, advancing collaboration among investors, entrepreneurs, and innovation leaders across Texas.