Lauren Wooden
Donor Engagement Manager

Born in Philadelphia and raised in over 10 cities across the United States, Lauren D.Wooden is an entrepreneur, writer, world traveler, philanthropist, and activist currently in candidacy for her doctorate in International Business Administration from the International School of Management (ISM) in Paris, France. Lauren is a scholarship recipient at ISM and was respectively featured in ISM’s 2016 Annual Newsletter, Forbes Magazine, the Economist, and The Washington Post. With a background in hospitality (Four Seasons, Beverly Hilton) and global involvement in political activism, Lauren merged her strengths to support her greater passions: community building, fundraising, and women’s empowerment.

For over 7 years, Lauren served as an executive board member for Communities In Schools of Los Angeles (CISLA) in the capacity of Co-Vice Chair of the Board, Chair of the Resource Development Committee, Co-Chair of the Governance Committee, and was both a Co-Sponsor and Co-Chair of the 2015 and 2017 CISLA Annual Galas—serving as a keynote speaker on the topic of increasing culmination and graduation rates in Los Angeles County’s middle and high schools. 

Throughout her activism and fundraising, Lauren has had the opportunity to develop personally meaningful relationships with influential global leaders. Currently, Lauren is the Donor Relations Manager at Communities In Schools of Los Angeles and is completing her doctoral dissertation on the neuroscience of implicit bias and its affect on the hiring of black women at the C-Suite level. As a side hustle, Lauren owns and operates an online luxury resale store specializing in pre-owned designer clothing, bags, shoes, and accessories.

On a personal note, Lauren is a proud dog mom to a Chinese Imperial Shi-Tzu named Layla. In her free time, Lauren likes to sketch, play the guitar, piano and flute, practice hot yoga, play golf, and host dinner parties.