laura interlandi (mccarthy)

House Manager - Lelum 'u tu S'sta-ehl teyt-en (House of Honourable Mothers)

Social Work, Indigenous Healthcare, Mental Health and Addictions

Bachelor of Social Work - University of Victoria (3rd year)

Full Spectrum Doula PCD (DONA), BD (CHB)

Classical Acting Graduate - London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art

Canadian Actors Equity Association Member

Since graduating from Brentwood College in 2004, Laura Interlandi's personal and professional journey has had many plot twists. After a year at McGill University and two gap years in Europe, Laura returned to her passion for the stage and moved to London to study Shakespeare.

After graduation, Laura acted in indie film productions in BC before landing an agent in Toronto. There, she studied improv at Second City and worked the audition circuit, eventually joining the Canadian Actor’s Union as she booked roles in plays, musicals, films and even an Opera. In 2010, Laura booked the lead role in a movie that never made it to the big screen but did introduce her to her husband, Salvatore. It wasn’t long until Laura moved to New York City to marry her filmmaker husband at City Hall in Manhattan on an unseasonably warm Winter Solstice.

After the birth of their first child, Aria, Laura was inspired to become a doula and health equity advocate. She is incredibly thankful to the many diverse and influential mentors she learned from in this period. After the birth of their twins, New York City lost its appeal, and Laura convinced her born-and-raised New Yorker husband to move to the forest.

While thrilled to be home, Laura quickly realized that building a life on Vancouver Island would ironically involve a New York City-level hustle. At one point, Laura had five jobs, ranging from the Dean of the Doula Program at Pacific Rim College to teaching singing, attending births, consulting on equity initiatives, and co-running her doula education business, Birdsong Brooklyn, which had grown an online student community on five continents.

In 2022, Laura became the manager of Lelum 'u tu S'sta-ehl teyt-en (House of Honourable Mothers) in Cowichan. This program, overseen by Hiiye yu Lelum, focuses on reducing the number of child apprehensions locally by providing support to mothers at risk. Being entrusted with this work, rooted in reconciliation and community values, has been an incredible privilege. Since then, Laura has released her other professional endeavours and has found focusing on one role to be deeply grounding.

Laura is an honours student in the School of Social Work at the University of Victoria and plans to complete a Master’s in Social Work eventually. Her children are her biggest motivators, and Laura recognizes that she could not have this amazing life without her encouraging husband, Salvatore, and her supportive parents, Lisa and Dave McCarthy.