Lauren joined Defenders of Wildlife in 2014. She worked to defend, strengthen and expand federal law, policy and management that conserve wildlife and habitat on federal lands, with a special focus on national forests and grasslands. She helped create proactive strategies to assure that healthy wildlife populations flourish across these vital public spaces.

Lauren has worked and published in the wildlife and wildlands conservation field for over 20 years. She has extensive experience promoting policy changes to protect and recover at-risk species throughout the United States. She co-founded and served as Executive Director of the Southern Plains Land Trust, which protects grassland species on private lands in the Southern Great Plains. She's also helped conduct conservation education and field projects in Africa and Mongolia, studying wild animals such as vultures, hedgehogs, African wild dogs and Argali sheep. Lauren received her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Colorado at Boulder.