My personal and professional experiences have helped shape a relentless drive to fight poverty and a fierce commitment to equity and justice. Throughout my career I have increased access to housing, food, education, and income by leveraging the power and potential of philanthropic, community, and government resources. The health and economic impacts of COVID-19 and our national reckoning with the history of racism that keeps too many BIPOC communities in poverty, require us to accelerate efforts to create a more just and equitable society.

I believe this is the moment for a revolution—not an evolution. One that codifies access to housing, food, healthcare, education and economic justice as human rights. That is why, after 17 incredible years at United Way, I recently left my position to pursue new professional opportunities to end poverty and transform our democracy. I hope to leverage my experience designing innovative poverty reduction programs, implementing high-impact grant making efforts, leading cross-functional teams, and developing successful public-private partnerships. At United Way I built an extraordinary team of 35 full time and 200 seasonal staff laser focused on designing and scaling equitable solutions to hunger, homelessness, and poverty.

I believe that homelessness and poverty are policy choices that could be eradicated with investments and interventions at the scale of the problems. I am passionate about making government programs more effective, modernizing our SafetyNet, ensuring college students have access to basic needs, leveraging National Service, and strengthening our democracy.

My experience includes:
• Social impact leader with fifteen years of experience leading high impact teams to scale effective solutions to poverty by working at the intersection of direct service, philanthropy, and policy.
• Expertise in the areas of poverty reduction, homelessness, hunger, tax credits, & economic mobility.
• Strategic grant maker and systems builder committed to racial equity and social justice.
• Strong strategic planning, coaching, change management, financial management, and evaluation skills.
• Creative fundraiser responsible for raising and stewarding $40M+ in public and private gifts annually.
• Skilled communicator with significant advocacy, media relations, and public speaking experience.
• Enthusiastic leader for results-driven teams, coalitions, and governing boards.

I am available for public speaking engagements, nonprofit consulting, strategic planning, grant writing, and board governance. I can be reached at @LaurenMcGowan or LaurenEMcGowan@gmail.com.