Who Is Laurada Byers?
in the city. Her civic leadership extends deeply into the city's cultural and international communities; she is the founder of the Philadelphia Film Festival (now celebrating over a quarter-century of impact) and has served on the board of the Philadelphia Film Society. Additionally, she headed the International House and served on its board for 38 years, focusing on welcoming and engaging international students studying in Philadelphia.
As a creative entrepreneur, Laurada founded Warthog Productions, creating the political "Republicans and Demoquacks" sold at national conventions. She is also a successful real estate broker and an accomplished author. Her published works include her memoir, Wild Wisdom: Warthog Tales, and her Book of Blessings series (including 52 Graces from Around the World), which have sold over 55,000 copies.
Laurada’s extensive community service has earned her wide recognition, including Philadelphia Magazine’s Volunteer of the Year Award and the Drexel University School of Medicine Woman One Award. She earned a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Fox School of Business at Temple University. She resides in Center City Philadelphia and is a proud mother of two and grandmother of three.
Laurada Byers is an acclaimed community leader, author, and entrepreneur with a profound, multi-decade commitment to education, culture, and civic engagement in Philadelphia. Driven by a vision of holistic education, Laurada co-founded the Russell Byers Charter School (RBCS) in 2001 alongside her two children as a tribute to her late husband, Russell Byers, a renowned Philadelphia newspaper columnist. She dedicated 24 years to the school and its "EL Education" vision, serving as the longtime chair of the Byerschool Foundation and helping the school grow to serve over 700 elementary and middle school students from dozens of Philadelphia neighborhoods.
A fierce advocate for educational quality, Laurada is a co-founder and current chair of Philadelphia Charters for Excellence, an alliance of high-performing public charter schools
“I wrote this book because grief has a way of isolating us, even when it is something many people quietly share. I wanted to create something honest — something that might offer recognition to those who have walked a similar path, and understanding to those who have not.
If there is comfort in these pages, I hope it is the comfort of being less alone.”
A Q&A With Laurada
Why do you like adventure travel?
I think over the years my definition of “adventure” has changed. Today I realize you can have adventure travel just by walking out your front door. When I was young, I used to think adventure was going to Africa and seeing animals. For example, I spent a number of months in Kenya and I loved it. While the animals were magnificent, my travel ambitions go beyond experiencing nature. Being on the same continent I thought it would be incredibly valuable to travel to South Africa to learn about what Apartide is and how it functions within the country. Going reluctantly, I went and what I found was that Apartide and segregation certainly exist and it was extremely distressing to see. But despite my discomfort, I had a hard time forming a judgement on the topic as we in America have not had much to say about discriminating against “the other”.
Why did you take such daring or dangerous life chances?
When you’re young nothing is daring or dangerous, you’re much more likely do to things that seem a little off the beaten path. So, youth would certainly be an answer. The other answer is that I have a very low tolerance for boredom.
Why did you never learn how to drive?
I do know how to drive. But I’ve made a conscious choice not to drive because the last time I drove I managed to bang into the garage door because I forgot to pull it up and as I exited, I scraped off the side light. Need to know more?
Do you cook? If so, do you have a specialty?
I cook. If I have spare time to make something simple and delicious I will. My children expect me to make “mush”, which is different wonderful things all put together and cooked on top of the stove. “Mush”, doesn’t that sound delicious?
What was the most exciting adventure you took with Russell?
I married him. When I married Russell, he was 36, had 2 children, owned a house, and had a really good job. I was 24 and had none of the above. Everything for me was brand new. Everything was an adventure with Russell. We were living in society hill in Philadelphia. One night I woke up to a loud noise. Frightened, I woke up Russell and we decided to call the police. The officer on the phone explained to us that a burglar of many items was caught running down our street with a golden retriever lighter in his pocket, which I knew to be ours. Russell and I stayed up the rest of the night wondering what was going to happen. The burglar was put on trial for his crimes, and the prosecution asked me to testify that the lighter in his pocket was ours. I was scared because I was the one who had identified the burglar so when I went to court, I had my hat pulled low over my face terrified that if he recognized me, he would come after me. He never did.
After 25 years, what makes you the proudest about Russell Byers Charter School?
That’s simple, the students! The majority of our students are black so their diversity is not about skin color and religion it’s about their interests, values, and connections to the world. Someone once told me that kids who live in certain zip codes would never travel more than 3 miles from home in their entire lives. To me that seemed a terrible waste. I’m glad we can make their worlds a little bigger.
What have you found to be the best thing to fight Parkinson’s?
The only way to fight Parkinson’s is have a sense of humor. I call my tremor Ms. Wiggles. Ms. Wiggles is an animated cartoon character that looks like Frankenstein’s bride, and she has hair that wiggles up into the air. That’s why she’s called Ms. Wiggles. I also have COPD which makes it difficult to breathe, that’s a little less fun but I have Mr. Breathless. And when Ms. Wiggles and Mr. Breathless get together it’s a wild time. The medication is incidental and doesn’t work all of the time.
How do you maintain your sense of humor?
It’s a question of perspective. You can either say life is dreary, or you can say that life is a three ring circus- I choose the latter.
Did you ever have kids of your own?
Russell and I never had kids together, a great sadness. My feeling is that I while enjoying children had never had that “oh my gosh I have got to be a mother” feeling. And if you didn’t have that feeling, I don’t think it would be right to bring children into the world.
Do you have any hobbies?
The sad answer is shopping. It’s not about the buying; it’s about the hunt! The hunt for something that is unusual or unique. Something that is of value and something that makes one warm and smile.
I’m not a painter or a sculpture or any kind of artist but I love flowers and I love the idea of putting flowers together in a particular vase in a particular way to be a part of a landscape.
Are there any other big projects you’ve taken on separate from the school?
I wrote a book. It’s called Laurada. The book recounts my life from early on up to about three years ago. That was a reflective experience. However recently my life hasn’t been so sweet. Some would describe me as a bit of an invalid with Ms. Wiggles from PD and Mr. Breathless from COPD. More recently I’ve been diagnosed with arterial neuropathy which causes narrowing of the arteries and limited blood flow to my feet making them persistently cold. I have Mr. Freeze from that. But the bright side is I’ve had to go buy all of these compression socks, yay shopping!
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L.