Lauren is the Director of Communications + Impact at Invest Appalachia, overseeing brand strategy, content, and messaging. By bringing together qualitative and quantitative impact metrics, she translates complex data into a clear story of IA’s role as a regional changemaker. Before joining IA, Lauren provided strategic communications and conflict resolution services to national corporate and nonprofit clients. Drawing on her background in conservation and place-based communications, she collaborates with leaders to sharpen strategy, elevate brand storytelling, and deepen community engagement.

With a specialization in media, narrative, and public discourse, Lauren earned her M.S. in Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding from The Carter School at George Mason University. At The Carter School, she was a fellow in the Narrative Transformation Lab, focusing her research on migration, identity, and narrative construction in conflict zones. She earned a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from The College of Charleston.

Before shifting into communications, Lauren spent over a decade as an investigator and open-source intelligence analyst. She also served as Editor for the Council of International Investigators. Lauren holds an SHRM-SCP and is certified as a Superior Court mediator by the North Carolina Dispute Resolution Commission.

Lauren is a board communications advisor for The Clemente Course in the Humanities and a Community Advisory Board Member for Blue Ridge Public Radio. She was a 2026 Fellow for the Center for Inclusion and Belonging’s “Belonging Innovation Lab.” She and her family live in Asheville, where she spends her free time biking, reading, playing music, and tending to far too many plants and pets.

“Good communication helps people see the region as it truly is: creative, capable, and ready for investment. By sharing our work in a clear and honest way, we open the door for more people to understand what’s possible here—and to invest in Central Appalachia’s future.”