Lauren Lawrence Swanson '09, Director of Belonging and Community Engagement, Dean of Freshman Class
Lauren Lawrence Swanson ’09 became the Director of Belonging and Community Engagement in 2022. She obtained her bachelor's degree in early childhood education with a special education endorsement from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2013 and her master's in educational leadership from Austin Peay State University (Clarksville, Tennessee) in 2022.
Over the past few years, Lauren has been instrumental in supporting GPS’s strategic focus on creating a culture in which every member, specifically students in underrepresented groups, has a voice at the table, feels respected and valued, and knows that they belong. She has worked tirelessly to build strong relationships with girls, support positive identity development, founded and leads BIPOC student forum, and serves as a liaison to other GPS forums. Additionally, she and her colleagues have worked to create developmentally appropriate lessons for grades 6-12 as a part of our student belonging program and co-led faculty and staff professional development opportunities as a part of our strategic equity plan.
As a member of the Advancement team, Lauren founded and leads the Black Alumnae Council, has worked with her fellow alumnae to raise over $150K for the Black Alumnae Endowed Scholarship Fund, and made myriad connections between GPS and our greater community.
As a member of the Advancement team, Lauren founded and leads the Black Alumnae Council, has worked with her fellow alumnae to raise over $150K for the Black Alumnae Endowed Scholarship Fund, and made myriad connections between GPS and our greater community.
Before returning to her alma mater, Lauren worked in the public school system, where she says she began to see the inequities in America’s educational system. She turned this knowledge into power, using it to write grants to overhaul her classroom library to reflect the demographics of her students and to take students on field trips that would otherwise be unavailable to them. She also helped write the science, math, and literacy curriculum for her grade level across Hamilton County.
She and her husband, Isaiah, are the parents of two daughters, the older is a member of the GPS Class of 2030.
