People participating in a ribbon-cutting ceremony outdoors, with the words "THE WORK" overlayed.

Twenty years of receipts. Zero years of excuses.

When Lauren was appointed to Cleveland City Council, she didn't waste time. Building on years as a precinct leader and active member of the Ward 3 + 15 Democratic Club, she fought for housing as a fundamental right—not a service the city could choose to provide when convenient. She helped unhoused residents as early and as often as the system would allow. She demanded transparent, accessible government that actually met people where they were, and built safety initiatives rooted in education, trust, and accountability - not just more policing.

Woman with curly hair and glasses smiling and speaking into a microphone during a meeting or event, with a brick wall background.

Group of people holding a large check inside a train depot with trains and an American flag in the background.

As Vice President of the Board for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, she helped govern a system millions depend on. She focused on equitable access because she understands what Cleveland keeps trying to forget: in America, if you can't get there, you can't get anywhere. A bus route isn't infrastructure. It's whether a kid makes it to class, whether someone keeps their job, whether a family can see a doctor.

Two women smiling, standing close together in a large conference or banquet hall. One woman is wearing a blue top and glasses, the other is wearing a black hoodie that says 'Public School Made Me' and large tortoiseshell glasses.

Her approach to policy doesn't take shortcuts. At the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, she translated cutting-edge research on trauma, violence prevention, and community development into strategies that could actually reach the communities hurting most. She fought for school levies like Issues 68 and 49, served as a trustee for the Black Professional Association Charitable Foundation supporting professionals in our community no matter their age, and works with Say Yes Cleveland to ensure families get the support they need and students are set up for success.

A young woman standing on a city street with her arm raised, possibly holding a phone. In the background, there are vehicles, including press vans with satellite dishes, and a crowd of people on the sidewalk, suggesting a public event or protest.

She figured out early that mentorship wasn't enough for young women of color. They needed power. As Founder of The Women's Leadership Guild, she spent years building a pipeline of women leaders who are running Cleveland now. As a Founding Board Member of Enlightened Solutions, she launched The Scarlet Letters Project and Project Noir - initiatives designed to address the specific ways Black women get pushed out of workplaces. She helped establish The School of One in the Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. She marched with the Mothers of the Movement after the murder of Tamir Rice. She's shown that real advocacy means being willing to make people uncomfortable when the truth demands it.

Group of six diverse people, four men and two women, smiling and standing outdoors at an event, some wearing orange shirts and a woman wearing pink, with trees and a fence in the background.

As a trustee for Environmental Health Watch, she fights environmental racism that impacts low-income neighborhoods and through Fresh Fest Cleveland, she's turns Kinsman each year into a place where 16,000 people a year can access healthy food and real economic opportunity - proof that you can't separate community health from community power.

A woman in a pink blouse and beige skirt is standing at the front of a classroom, speaking to a group of students seated at tables. The classroom has large windows with blinds and a classroom podium to her right.

Lauren is a Crain's Cleveland Business Notable Leader and four-time honoree in Who's Who in Black Cleveland. She's built capacity for grantees of The Cleveland Foundation's Black Future Fund and coached entrepreneurs at the Economic and Community Development Institute. She's building power where it matters most.

Lauren's whole life tells one story: show up, do the work, make change, repeat. And she'll show up for you in Columbus - every day, for every person in District 20.