Lauren is the Interim Executive Director of Building Peaceful Bridges. With nearly fourteen years of experience in the refugee and immigrant nonprofit sector, she brings her expertise on programming and fundraising to help BPB transition to its next stage of growth. Lauren is passionate about welcoming newcomers to our country and local communities and believes in the power of BPB’s work.

She holds a B.A. in International Relations and Global Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and M.A. in Development Studies – Global Migration and Diversity from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands. She was most recently the Director of Development & Communications for Syrian Community Network in Chicago.

Lauren moved to Arvada, CO in summer 2026 with her husband and toddler, and her oldest son attends the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She will be traveling at least quarterly to the Chicago area for this role. Lauren loves traveling and celebrating cultures from around the world. She has visited 19 countries and lived in Lebanon, France, and the Netherlands with plans to see more soon!

All Staff