Dr. Lau completed her Post-Doctoral Research at the University of Washington in 2006, conducting environmental DNA analysis and supervising technicians in the lab. After her post-doc, she joined the American Association for the Advancement of Science at the U.S. Department of State as a Science and Technology Policy Fellow, where she served until 2008. With the state, she worked as a Foreign Affairs Officer, managing the U.S.-Japan bilateral framework to enhance collaboration on security research. In this role, Dr. Lau worked with various stakeholders in the U.S. and Japan, including the Japanese Embassy. Moreover, she served on the U.S. delegation to multilateral discussions on biodiversity, oceans, the law of the sea, and coral reefs. She represented the state at federal advisory committees and numerous other responsibilities requiring subject expertise and effective collaboration.

She joined Forest Trends as their Program Manager of Marine Ecosystem Services, where she served until 2012 to advance marine payment for ecosystem services and financing mechanisms, collaborated with partners in Colombia and Mexico, helped fundraise for program implementation, and facilitated conferences and workshops. Dr. Lau worked for USAID as a Climate Change Science and Technology Adviser from 2012 to 2014 in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, managing multi-million-dollar climate change adaptation portfolios. With USAID, she helped design climate resilience projects to protect communities, which included drafting a five-year plan and working closely with other officials.

Dr. Lau previously worked for the World Resources Institute as a Consultant Adviser. She provided expertise for the Inter-American Development Bank to measure the performance of coastal zone management and capacity to assess climate change finance in Latin American communities. Dr. Lau currently works for The Pew Charitable Trusts. She began her career as an Officer in the International Conservation Unit in 2014, developing, coordinating, and implementing engagement strategies in Asia to end illegal fishing in the region. She was promoted to Senior Officer of the Preventing Ocean Plastics program, then to Senior Manager, and again to her current role as Project Director in 2022. Her research and work aim to implement science and evidence-based solutions and policies to reduce plastic pollution.

In addition to her role at the Trust, she Chairs the Community Training Committee at the Junior League of Washington. This organization provides life skills and professional development for homeless women. She also serves on the Financing Climate Smart Landscapes Working Group for the Network for Sustainable Financial Markets, where she is a contributing author to Sustainable Investing: Revolutions in Theory and Practice. Dr. Lau previously served on the Women's Aquatic Network and is the Founder of Fellows for Philanthropy, an organization that fundraises for DC-based education non-profits.