I help mission-driven teams design and scale communities, programs, and products that drive meaningful impact.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Community Building

Strategizing, launching, and scaling global, local, online, and offline communities through purpose-driven programming and impactful engagement. Specializes in building 0→100 “cold start” communities.

User Research

Using a data-driven, human-centered approach to design research methods that uncover deep insights, identify needs and opportunities, and translate findings into meaningful solutions.

Startups & Innovation

Transforming ideas and insights into user-centric products, guiding early-stage startups from vision to execution with creativity and strategic focus.

Program Development

Designing and launching innovative programs that inform, foster knowledge exchange, maximize engagement, and empower communities, at scale, and with heart.

Operations & Strategy

Identifying inefficiencies, building systems, and establishing operational frameworks that align teams, drive efficiency, and support sustainable growth.

Facilitation & Events

Building trust and leading with empathy to facilitate deep conversations, and surface insights. I develop and lead workshops and events that catalyze connection, collaboration, and creativity.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Pearl - CoFounder + COO

Blending an AI co-pilot with a peer community, Pearl was designed to provide personalized guidance and real world perspective to help individuals navigate their life and career.

  • I led product development, community strategy, operations, and research, I honed my ability to translate vision into execution while operating in a fast-paced, early-stage environment. This experience strengthened my strategic thinking, resilience, and adaptability, while deepening my understanding of the founder journey and startup ecosystem. 

Community Building & Strategy

I guide teams in identifying community archetypes, designing meaningful engagement loops, and setting up foundational operations. I also help teams develop strong community listening practices and leverage user insights to inform strategy and growth.

    • Peo Vee is a creative reuse community where I advise on strategy and engagement, user onboarding, content, and participation systems.

    • Toast Women in Tech – I’m a community lead for the San Francisco chapter, hosting meetups, guided conversations, and networking events that foster connection and support.

Alive Ventures - Research & 0-1 Innovation

I designed and led human-centered research and co-design sprints, synthesizing data and insights to guide the development of eight MVP products a year, such as Socialize.

  • Driving foundational insights and thought leadership for the venture studio, I authored weekly newsletters that distilled key learnings and produced annual reports to capture and share our findings.

Wikimedia Foundation

As a community strategist, I developed and facilitated global workshops, leadership trainings, and strategic programs for Wikimedia’s 250k volunteer community.

    • Managing two international research projects, Movement Learning and Leadership Development and Movement Organizers.

    • Leading the facilitation of the Wikimedia Foundation’s first Code of Conduct—a global, community-driven effort uniting diverse stakeholders around shared values.

    • Producing and executing Wikimedia’s 500+ person All Hands Conferences in 2017 and 2018, bringing together staff from around the world to connect, align, and collaborate.

    • Program lead and co-facilitator for the annual Wikimedia Funds Dissemination Committee meeting. 

    • Co-lead of the Foundation’s Women and Non-Binary ERG

Older Adult Co-Design Community

As Head of Community Alive Ventures, I built and led a 700-person insight community from the ground up, empowering older adults to co-design products that addressed their unique needs and desires, fostering trust and meaningful collaboration.

    • Developed and led the Elder Advisory Committee program, a recurring initiative that brought together older adults and entrepreneurs across eight cohorts to create human-centered products rooted in lived experience.

    • Designed a process that engaged users throughout the product lifecycle, from early ideation to testing and feedback - ensuring solutions were shaped with and for the end users.

    • Facilitated corporate co-design sessions with partners like Target, connecting product teams directly with older adult users to uncover insights and inform design decisions.

    • Built onboarding, training, and facilitation systems to support inclusive participation and elevate the voices of older adults, many of whom had never been invited into the design process before.

Stanford University

While working with the overseas studies office I managed 5 international programs, led the student ambassador program, and partnered with the d.school to apply human-centered design principles to enhance global student experiences.

ABOUT ME

I am a skilled connector, researcher, and human-centered designer with over a decade of experience building communities for technology startups and nonprofit organizations, developing global education and training initiatives, leading research to guide product design, and fostering authentic human interactions to cultivate trust, connection, and inclusivity.

With a background in Anthropology and a Master’s degree in International Policy, I bring a human-centered approach to problem-solving, recognizing that understanding the needs, challenges, and aspirations of people is essential to creating meaningful solutions. Throughout my career, I have prioritized making a global impact, advancing equity, and tackling complex challenges with empathy and creativity.

A natural creative and DIY enthusiast, I enjoy exploring different mediums, hosting ‘crafternoons,’ and helping others tap into their artistic side.

What others have said about me and my work

  • "You don't know the impact you have had on us and how the questions you asked affected how I think about my life - it's still impacting me. The level of trust you established where I'm going to talk to you about details of my life - that's really hard to do and you did a bang up job in creating a safe space."

    Mafa, Alive Ventures Community member

  • "Lauren works with a human-centered approach to understanding problems and seeking opportunities behind them. She has a quick mind, a professional and pleasant demeanor, an eye for detail, and the ability to grasp the big picture. As a facilitator, she can structure a session, tease out critical information, and guide people towards meaningful results. As a project manager, I have seen her step into a struggling project and pull teams together, finding a path forward for them. She can grasp even very complex workflows and manage them effectively, creating people-focused processes that work. "

    Maggie, VP of Community, Wikimedia Foundation

  • “It has been a long time since I have felt so motivated to help in innovating change. It was really a very good meeting. Professionally moderated. Well done.”

    Member of co-design session

  • “Her leadership of the WMF Women and Non-binary group demonstrates her commitment to creating an inclusive culture. She develops creative ideas for engagement and executes them with quality and efficiency. She knows exactly when something should be a group decision and when it can be an independent decision.”

    Dana, Former Wikimedia colleague

Let’s connect

Interested in working together? Please reach out using this form and I’ll be in touch soon.