A teacher, union member, and community leader running to put Louisiana families first.

Lauren is a National Board Certified special education teacher with 17 years of classroom experience. She holds a Louisiana Mentor Teacher Certification and has taught students with disabilities in every grade from kindergarten through sixth grade.

Lauren began her career in 2009 with St. John the Baptist Parish Public Schools. For the past 15 years, she has worked in public and charter schools across Orleans Parish, most recently as a founding staff member at The Leah Chase School.

Growing up with an aunt with Down syndrome gave Lauren an early understanding of the importance of disability rights and inclusion. She has devoted her career to advocating for students with disabilities, supporting their families, and strengthening the teaching profession.

In addition to teaching, Lauren has served as a mentor, instructional coach, professional-learning facilitator, special education administrator, panelist, and education policy advocate. Her work has focused on Universal Design for Learning, student mental health, equitable educational practices, and policies that help every child succeed.

Lauren was named a 2019 ASCD Emerging Leader and a 2019–2020 Understood.org Fellow. She has also served on the Digital Promise Learner Variability Project Practitioner Advisory Board. Her writing has appeared on numerous education websites, and she has led professional-development sessions through the National Council of Teachers of English, the Louisiana Department of Education, and New Orleans-based AfterCLASS.

In 2021, Lauren was named to the New Orleans CityBusiness Power 20 Education list. The following year, she received the American Consortium for Equity in Education's Excellence in Equity Award in the Special Education Division and the ASCD Emerging Leader Alumni Affiliate Award for Excellence in Educational Practices.

Lauren previously ran for the Jefferson Parish School Board, District 6, in 2022 and for Louisiana's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, District 1, in 2023, bringing the voice of a working classroom teacher directly into the public conversation about education.

Lauren comes from a proud union family. Her grandmother was a veteran special education teacher who held numerous leadership positions—including president of her teachers' union—in Lackawanna, New York.

Lauren carried that example into her own career. She first became active with the Louisiana Association of Educators while teaching in St. John the Baptist Parish and later joined United Teachers of New Orleans, AFT Local 527.

From 2013 through 2022, Lauren served on UTNO's Executive Council, representing educators and school employees working in public charter and direct-run schools throughout Orleans Parish. For five of those years, she served as vice president of the Committee on Political Education, helping educators and community members understand the policies, legislation, elections, and candidates shaping public education.

Through UTNO, Lauren coordinated a book study group about public education in New Orleans, served as a delegate to state and national education conventions, and completed training through the UC Berkeley Labor Center in labor organizing and collective bargaining. She also served on the union organizing committee at The Leah Chase School, advocating for the needs of students, educators, and families.

Lauren believes working people deserve a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect their lives—and that strong unions help turn that principle into reality.

Lauren's commitment to service reaches well beyond the classroom.

For six years, she served on the New Orleans Track Club Board of Directors as an at-large member, secretary, and president. In those roles, she helped organize annual road races and trail events that brought people together throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area.

For the past nine years, Lauren has volunteered as a collective member of Louisiana Books 2 Prisoners, helping answer letters and send free books to incarcerated people in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama. She also regularly volunteers with community organizations delivering meals to children and families experiencing food insecurity.

Lauren has been an active member of the New Orleans chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America since 2023, frequently participating in mutual-aid efforts including brake-light clinics and the Fork and Knife Club.

Since March 2024, Lauren has served as an elected at-large member of the Jefferson Parish Democratic Executive Committee and as the District 78A representative on the Louisiana Democratic State Central Committee. She also represents the 1st Congressional District Caucus on the Louisiana Democratic Party Executive Committee.

Through these roles, Lauren has worked to educate voters about elections, candidates, ballot initiatives, and voting rights. In October 2025, the Jefferson Parish Democratic Executive Committee presented her with its Power of the People Award for championing labor rights, strengthening civic participation and democracy, and empowering working families.

Whether she is teaching students, organizing alongside fellow educators, delivering meals, sending books, or helping neighbors exercise their right to vote, Lauren has consistently shown up for her community. She is running for Congress to bring that same spirit of service—and the lived experience of Louisiana's working families—to Washington.