Lauren is a PhD candidate in the Department of Maternal and Child Health (MCH). Her research focuses on state-level political dynamics and implementation of maternal behavioral health policies. Before returning to school she led the women’s portfolio for a research-advocacy organization in Washington, DC. Prior, she worked at Stanford University’s Center for Behavioral Health Sciences and Implementation Research (CBHSIR) evaluating California's medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) expansion projects and on reproductive justice projects at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and University of California, Berkeley’s Sexual Health and Reproductive Equity (SHARE) group. She holds a BS in Nutritional Sciences & Toxicology from the University of Texas at Austin and a MPH in Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health from the University of California, Berkeley.