About Our Founder

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Penn Laird graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from Princeton University with a degree in biology. He obtained his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania and completed his residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was selected chief resident. He then served in the United States Navy as Chief of Pediatrics at the US Naval Hospital, Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. After military service he completed a fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dr. Laird came to Texas as a faculty member in Pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and Children’s Medical Center, where he was known for his expertise in echocardiography. After 10 years in academic medicine, he entered private practice in 1983. Board-certified in Pediatric Cardiology and Pediatrics, he has been a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is a member of the American Heart Association’s Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young, the Society of Pediatric Echocardiography, the Texas Pediatric Society, the American Medical Association, and Sigma Xi. He also served on the Board of Trustees of Princeton University and the Minority Educational Opportunities Program.

Penn and his wife Sydney have three children. They continue to contribute to the lives of young families by teaching parenting classes offered through their church.