Our Core Values

Authenticity

We believe showing up as the full self with wisdom from one's unique lived experience brings intrinsic benefit to every space.

Systemic oppression has no place in the world we envision: a world where all are free.

We believe in the human capacity for expansion and improvement as we learn from mistakes.

Anti-Racism

Growth

How We Started

Chicago-born, woman-led

After struggling for over a decade to find a workplace culture where she felt comfortable truly being herself, our founder, Laura Farr, decided it was time to create a new way of working.

In deciding to launch Forward Together, Laura talked to friends, colleagues, and strangers from various backgrounds. Folks were tired of choosing between holding themselves back or gathering in small groups of folks of the same background to find safety and be seen. This work was both necessary and timely, so Forward Together launched in January 2023.

Forward Together aims to help organizations create spaces that welcome people to bring their unique experience and their authentic selves and welcome their full participation. Myriad backgrounds allow us to see blind spots and find creative pathways forward.

Through consulting, workshops, and organizational cultural assessments, Forward Together identifies organizational needs to facilitate organizational culture that drives employee and/or consumer engagement in for-profit and non-profit spheres.

About our Founder

Laura Farr is Founder and Principal Strategist at Forward Together. Laura is an attorney with background in education law and public policy.

Laura is a certified mediatior, trained at Northwestern University. She has served as adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago School of law, teaching first-year law students about topics in professional identity formation, including anti-racism, unconscious bias mitigation, and empathy.

In addition, Laura has served as a lobbyist for Northwestern University working closely with state elected officials and government agencies. She has also represented Chicago Public Schools, the nation's third-largest school district, for nearly a decade. During her time at Chicago Public Schools, Laura helped the District navigate historic policy decisions, intense company change management, and political unrest.

Holding various positions on non-profit boards, Laura has organized corporate trainings for executive staff, helped facilitate strategic planning and volunteer management, and given speeches to general and executive audiences.

Laura is an alumnus of Loyola University Chicago School of Law where she earned her Juris Doctorate. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Laura is deeply committed to creating welcoming spaces where all feel free to be themselves. One of her key values is kindness: being considerate of others, and even doing the difficult things for their benefit.

Ask Laura about video games or tell her about your latest DIY.