Lauren grew up in Ohio City before it was a destination. Her block didn't lie about what Cleveland is: some neighborhoods get investments, others get left behind.
When the system quit on her community, they didn't quit on each other. Neighbors packed lunches for hungry kids. Teachers stayed late. Regular people refused to wait for permission to care.
Watching them show up taught her how to show up. Volleyball captain. Class president at Jane Addams Business Careers Center in the Central neighborhood (a proud graduate and alumna of CMSD.) Every win proved the same truth: this district doesn't need saving - it needs investment. Give people real resources and they build, lead, lift others up.
She's carried that everywhere. To Wittenberg's Black Student Union, learning to listen to what students actually need. To Obama's campaign, knocking thousands of doors because democracy happens on porches, not in consultant meetings. To Skid Row, serving the unhoused while navigating Hollywood. Back to Cleveland where she's been serving the city block by block for over twenty years. (See her work here.)
Every stop taught her: real work happens where people are. In boardrooms creating jobs where they're needed. In community meetings building partnerships. In legislative chambers making hard calls when politics get messy.
She's not here to perform change. She's been building it the Cleveland way - one conversation, one partnership, one victory at a time.
