Hero: Laura Brink

Secret identity: clinic manager

Base of operations: Planned Parenthood, Albert Lea is a spoke office, along with offices in Owatonna and Fairmont. The main hub office is in Mankato.

Superpowers: able to accommodate and be flexible with scheduling in the clinics and having enough staff to cover when someone calls in sick

Kryptonite: not being open all of the time. The Albert Lea office is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays and sometimes patients don’t have availability on those days.

Affiliations: husband and two sons

Origin: Brink’s career began as an elementary education teacher, but her first love was always in the medical field. She taught for awhile and then went back to school and obtained her nursing degree. She started as a nurse with Planned Parenthood and then moved up the ranks. She has been the clinic manager for the Planned Parenthood offices in Albert Lea, Owatonna, Fairmont and Mankato for seven years.

Her role as the manager keeps her on her toes with a variety of responsibilities, including budgeting, scheduling, serving on committees and visiting schools. However, her most important role, along with that of her nurses, is serving the patients.

“Most importantly, we provide confidential, caring and compassionate care to our patients, providing services they’re unable to obtain elsewhere,” she said.