During her 15-year tenure as Director of Main Street Collierville, Laura’s beloved hometown was named “2014 Best Main Street in America” by Parade Magazine. Nearly a decade later, her investment in the town is still paying dividends. Collierville was named #3 on Southern Living’s 2023 list of “10 Charming Tennessee Towns Everyone Should Visit This Year.” Other Tennessee towns mentored by Laura, Bell Buckle, Franklin, and Paris, also made the list.

Through her company, Downtown District Consulting, Laura guides steering committees through the process of developing local downtowns. She has mentored more than 20 towns as part of the Tennessee Downtowns program, which was designed to assist communities with the steps of launching sustainable downtown revitalization efforts. Participation in this program is highly competitive and can be a path to becoming a Tennessee Main Street community. She currently serves 23 communities in the Tennessee Main Street program. Her services have extended to Mississippi Main Street where she provides training to 3 communities.

Within the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD), Laura also assists with training sessions across Tennessee for entrepreneurs in the SMART START program of the Business Enterprise Resource Office (BERO).

Her top advice for towns seeking to redevelop downtown districts is to assemble a core group of public and private sector individuals who share a commitment to the community and downtown preservation. The second step is partnering with Laura and Downtown District Consulting.

Laura Tetley Todd is a devoted friend to the State of Tennessee. She has served in numerous roles and is currently involved with the Rural Heritage Trust of Southwest Tennessee, Shelby County Historical Commission, Tennessee Preservation Trust, Memphis Legacy Women’s Trail through the Women of Achievement Group, and many other organizations. Her extensive involvement also includes an appointment by Governor Bill Lee to the Tennessee Historical Commission.