Nebraska Women in STEM Talked to lori laster about being authentic and caring for her community as a stormwater management engineer.
“It doesn’t matter what people think you should or should not do. Explore your passions and don’t let anyone pressure you into what they feel is appropriate,” says Lori Laster, a Stormwater Management Engineer at the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District.
Laster, who dons her “safety pink” shirt when she’s out on the job, is a pillar of compassion for everyone around her. She says that she grew up wanting to travel around the world to provide fresh drinking water for people but ended up shifting into hydraulics and geotechnical studies in college. Now, Laster finds purpose working in flood mitigation and awareness.
“Helping people has always been at the heart of what I do. Reducing the risk of flooding is just as meaningful as those grand ideas I had when I was 18.”
When asked about advice that she would give her younger self, Laster responded with conviction. She strongly believes that women shouldn’t be pushed into “traditional” roles, nor should they feel like they need to “fit in with the boys.”
Laster and her spouse are striving to raise their daughter with these same values.
“We were really careful to not push her into certain ‘girl’ activities, like playing with dolls or her pretend kitchen. When she did play with her kitchen, she would play like ‘Iron Chef.’ She was cooking to win. It was in these moments that I felt like we were doing it right.”
Laster is committed to carefully attending to the needs of her community. She says that her work is particularly relevant in the wake of the July 2025 flash floods in Texas that killed over 100 people.
“We have a lot of different systems in place that keep us safe, but one of the most critical parts is making sure that people understand their risk. If I can save even one person, then I think that’s worth it.” Laster says that learning how to talk about complicated subjects with non-technical people is a skill that is difficult, but essential for STEM professionals to learn.
However, keeping people and their property safe from flooding is as much of a people-issue as it is an engineering challenge. Laster says that building trust with her community has been difficult. “I don’t necessarily approach these issues from a purely logistical mindset. I try to look at the human side of things as well. These are people, and sometimes they just want someone to listen.”
Despite some communities’ hesitancy to trust a government agency, Laster works to connect with all types of communities within the District.
“I was recently invited to one neighborhood’s 100-year celebration, and I was really honored. I spent a lot of time with individuals from this area when they had a flood in 2019 and was able to build relationships with them. I really tried to understand and empathize with them, so they know that I’m on their side.”
She also believes in women following their dreams. Laster sends her daughter off to college to study music in the Fall. To her, and other women in STEM, Laster drives in the message: “Be who you want to be.”
o “find a way to thrive wherever you’re at. Don’t worry about the ebb and flow or wherever you’ve been transplanted. Just figure out how to bloom wherever you are.”