Lauren Shepherd is coming to Batten from Teach For America where she most recently served as Managing Director, Chief of Staff to the Vice President of Executive Director Learning. Prior to that, she served as the Chief of Staff to the TFA Bay Area Executive Director and as Managing Director of Teacher Onboarding Strategy based out of San Francisco. Originally trained as a journalist, she has professional experience as a writer and reporter as well as many years involved in strategic and operational planning, project management, partnerships, and talent development.  Lauren graduated with an MPP degree from University of Chicago, an MA in Journalism from the University of Missouri – Columbia, and BA in English from UVA. Passionate about education, policy, and the Batten School mission, Lauren is truly excited to work alongside Dean Solomon, faculty, staff, students, and others to support strategic and operational initiatives of the school.

Lauren resides in Charlottesville with her husband and 7-year-old daughter. She's currently studying for her Specialist of Wine certification from the Society of Wine Educators and enjoys wine tasting, reading fantasy novels, and cheering on the Hoos.