Welcome here, I’m Lauren!

I am a hard working mom of 5, and advisor to small business owners and Fortune 500 C suite business executives. I have a deep belief in our abilities to improve, consistently and prudently over time. As a member of School Committee, I will ask questions, reveal patterns, and guide our schools to define policies that support a vision for thriving students. 

 

I will be the bridge from your voice to the decisions that get made in this town. Together, little by little, day after day, we will achieve more.

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Change is a perennial. It doesn't hurry.

I have a theory that all meaningful change operates like one of my favorite perennials, the hydrangea. It operates on a 3 year growth cycle. 

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Year one: Sleep. The planting happens and roots establish.

Year two: Creep. More blooms, sturdier stems.

Year three: Leap. Significantly more flowers, increased stems. A full plant.

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That's how growth works in our lives. I see this community showing up, little by little, in our own lives. The neighbor supporting an adult child. The business owner seeking better accessibility for customers. A teacher staying late to educate not only students, but also the parents.

 

Our growth happens in small shifts, tested honestly, and applied with patience. Little by little. It starts when we ask the hard questions and share the tough feedback. It requires empathetic listening and a desire to move conversations to action.

 

It's the kind of work that doesn't cost money. It will cost us determination and the willingness to see things differently. To test, learn, and try differently.

 

Our students do this every single day in the classroom. It's a requirement for graduation! We will make it a requirement for living in this town, side by side, a community working towards bigger dreams. 

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I live here.

I am invested in Needham in ways that go deeper than a campaign season.

 

I served on Town Meeting for several years, and when a neighbor lost his race by 3 votes, I resigned so they could take it. He deserved it.

 

I helped organize the community around the MBTA zoning vote. I wanted to make sure, whether yes or no, that they had a chance for their voice to be heard. And 12,000 people came out to vote because of it.

 

Seven years ago, I was one of the first people knocking on doors for the train horn quiet zone. 500 of you received a personal letter from me. You may still have it.

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I have two children in our elementary schools and three in preschool. I am in those classrooms regularly. I want to see all of it. The transitions in the hallways, the reading at library, and the friendships on the playground. Going inside a school puts you in direct contact with the people experiencing the system you care about. 

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And I was a student here myself, K–12. I know what it feels like to love a teacher deeply, like Mrs. Moriarty in half-day kindergarten at High Rock. I know what it felt like to discover resiliency through athletics because of encouraging coaches like Mr. Hession, Mr. Brody, and Mr. Tarabelli. I know what it's like to develop life long love of skills that serve me today, like Mr. Bookston's AP Statistics class in high school. It led to an economics degree and a career in financial services.

 

These schools shaped who I became.

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I also know what it is like to experience bullying in Needham, on the bus and in the cafeteria. That is a lonely feeling. I know the shame of getting in trouble in a classroom for something I was sure was funny, and then wasn't. School is complicated. And the learning environment is critical to fostering belief that you are loved and belong, regardless of your mistakes.  

Trust is the infrastructure a school runs on.​

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Nearly two decades in financial services and a love of math taught me that patterns of data start to reveal the solutions to problems. In fact, sometimes the problem and the solution are the same. When we pay attention to the details in ways that others don't, we discover answers.

 

When we ask the tough questions and listen to the real feedback, and respond to it in kind, change starts. Little by little.

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And trust doesn't happen by accident. I've had practice in tense rooms, leading negotiations, building relationships, and understanding what's driving behavior underneath the surface. When we intentionally slow down, we see the path to connection, and results. 

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In our schools, trust is structural. Trust comes from sharing feedback, and knowing the other person seeks to understand. Trust comes from seeing others take risk, and knowing it's safe to do so. Trust comes from showing up for a class that intimidates you.

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I will challenge our schools to see the policies that support, and misguide, our needs for trust. If we start at the foundation, the culture, 

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Elect Lauren. Cast a vote for your beliefs. 

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I believe myself to be a conduit to the voices I serve in business, in family, and in my community. I strive to listen patiently, encourage reliabily, and work hard for dreams that aren't yet a reality.

 

I have expertise that will complement the already strong school committee leadership team. I work on projects, in life and business, that require going from great to excellent. That is a small delta to close. The formula requires consistency, focus, and a new way of seeing.

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I will represent your voice in this town. Not just a parent's love for this town. A practitioner's understanding of what makes people, and institutions, work exceptionally well together.

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I want to advise our schools in reading the data, growing the relationships, and closing the gaps.

That's the job and I'm ready for it.

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