Professional Life and Accomplishments
In 100 words or less, tell us about your career path.
I got an economics degree from a liberal arts school, which I naturally thought would translate to a job at JP Morgan – it did not.
So I got an internship at a small political consulting firm, which I thought would be a short stay – it was not.
Ten years – and a Master’s Degree – later, I retired from campaign life to go work in government thinking I wanted a slower pace – I did not.
Then I landed at GSG, where I have been for the last 6 years.
Who are your female mentors, role models, favorite trail blazers, or heroes?
My mom went to law school when she was 44 years old. Back then I just thought it was awesome that I got to order takeout 2-3 times a week, but now as a mother of two myself, I honestly do not know how she did it. Not being afraid to disrupt her life to do something she always wanted to do is so brave. I learned from her that your story is never written in stone and to always be open to new opportunities. Most importantly though, she taught me that it’s totally okay to feed your family pizza multiple times a week.
What accomplishment are you most proud of OR what has been your biggest success to date?
Running Hakeem Jeffries’ State Assembly campaign in 2006 and then his Congressional race in 2012, where we took out a 30-year incumbent. I am so proud of the work he has done since becoming a Congressmember, getting a (rare) bi-partisan criminal justice reform bill passed in this administration and now with his role in the impeachment hearings. I have always known what a superstar he is and I am so glad the rest of the country has gotten a chance to see that for themselves. And if you don’t know, now you know.
What is the best piece of advice you would give (or have already given) to women starting out in our industry?
Advocate for yourself. If you are lucky you will find people who will help shepherd your career along the way, but the bottom line is no one will advocate for you as hard as you will do for yourself. Don’t expect that your bosses will just acknowledge your talents and hard work, make sure to tell them.
What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?
There are a lot of egos on political campaigns and to avoid conflicts I was often told to “stay in my lane.” Being told that just made me want to get involved in everything and take advantage of every opportunity I had to learn and contribute. Just because you aren’t the communications director doesn’t mean you don’t have good ideas to offer. Speak up. Not being afraid to (politely) ruffle some feathers made me better and more valuable at my job. And the best part was once I became the campaign manager I got to own the highway.
More about Lauren
If you could learn to do one thing, what would it be?
A couple of years ago I taught myself how to shoot manually with my DSLR camera and have since fallen in love with taking pictures of families (it’s mostly been my own). I am always trying to learn how to get better, so if you are in the NY/NJ area and you are looking for some free family photos, let me know.
What do you do with 30m of free time?
Free time, what’s that?
Name a song on your playlist that no one would believe is there.
Every single Bruce Springsteen song ever recorded.
