LAUREL SAYER:
THE WOMAN WITH A GOLDEN TOUCH How did Laurel Sayer end up being the only female in the world to bust the “golden ceiling” of the mining industry and become the CEO of Perpetua Resources? Sayer’s answers are as intriguing as her title. 30
To begin: Imagine treading carefully for 20-plus years up a steep and narrow path while balancing concerns of politicians, the environment, the people of Idaho, an extended family that includes six children and 22 grandchildren, and of course, the bottom line for stockholders. In other words, Sayer got the job by doing what a man could not do better. Here is what she shared when we sat down with her for a Q&A. “I started out working for Congressman Simpson,” said Sayer, 62. “And I stayed for 20 years, concentrating on his natural resource work. I loved the work because I loved rural Idaho, and the people of rural Idaho. That’s how I was raised on a dairy farm. And you know who is really running those rural farms and ranches? It’s the women. The matriarchs. They are the strength of that cultural tradition from generation to generation. My grandmother was that way, so I was attracted and cared about working with the ranching
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and farming families because their livelihoods are interconnected to natural resources.” Q: How did you balance their needs, say, for diminished grazing lands, with Congressman Simpson’s Boulder White Clouds Wilderness Bill? A: “I feel that farming and ranching families are conservationists because they use the land with the idea of maintaining and improving it to ensure the future of their business. They have no choice but to be good stewards of the land. Most understand and want to improve habitat for fish because they need a healthy water sources for their crops and livestock. However, many also don’t have the knowledge of how to find funding or negotiate regulatory mechanisms. They needed help. So, I learned regulatory and revenue policy. I actually cared deeply about the people, the land and how politics can help both thrive.”
