Lauren is an energy industry professional, working as the Environmental Policy Manager in the Policy and Federal Affairs department at Xcel Energy. In her role, she uses quantitative and qualitative analysis to understand key State and Federal energy policies, develop corporate positions, and represent the company in key stakeholder groups. Her work covers the gamut of environmental issues including climate policy, air quality, species, water and sustainability more broadly. Among other projects, she works on sustainability strategy and disclosure to help the company continuously improve and tell its clean energy story.

Lauren has a Master's in Public Administration from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor's in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. She also has four years of experience working for a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development. She speaks Spanish and has spent time abroad in Africa and Latin America. In 2009, she lived in Equatorial Guinea, where she was helping the government set up a Social Needs Fund to provide more services to their citizens.

In 2005, Lauren biked across the United States with a non-profit called Bike and Build. They spent 10 weeks of biking and built houses for the local Habitat for Humanity on their days off. She has remained an avid cyclist and supporter of Habitat for Humanity ever since. This bike ride is also where she fell in love with Colorado and what brought her back to Denver nearly 6 years later to start her career in energy policy.