Lauren joined BellXcel in 2011 and served in several leadership roles prior to being named CEO in 2017, including Vice President of Program Impact, President and Chief Strategy Officer.

Lauren is leading the organization in an ambitious strategic transformation focused on changing the way its partners empower educators, build sustainable high-quality practices and outcomes, and reach exponentially more children and their families.  Most significantly, Lauren is overseeing the creation of bold, innovative solutions that will further revolutionize the youth development sector as first to market, all-in-one SaaS products for youth leaders and school administrators to scale and power their programs anytime, anywhere.

Lauren’s ongoing commitment to bring the power of practitioner work and deep research together to build field capacity fueled the launch the Sperling Center for Research and Innovation, an independent BellXcel affiliate designed to bridge the research to practice to policy gap in the education field.

Lauren began her career as a special education teacher in her native New Mexico and later served as an Assistant Superintendent in Massachusetts. She holds a Bachelor Degree from the University of New Mexico in Special Education and earned a Doctorate in Education from Boston College.

Lauren has attended the highly-selective nonprofit leadership program at Harvard University, and was named a Results for America Nonprofit Fellow in 2016. She serves as a member of The Bridgespan Group’s Knowledge Advisory Board, a diverse group of recognized leaders committed to accelerating impact in the social sector and deepening the relevance and influence of insights and tools.

Lauren also serves as a board member for Roca, a community-based organization determined to be a relentless force in disrupting incarceration, poverty and racism by engaging young adults, police and systems at the center of urban violence to address trauma, find hope and drive change.

Lauren is the proud mother of an active and beautiful teenaged daughter.