Lauren Freeman

Lauren Freeman is an Ethan Allen, Rachel Hut Bremen, and Buford M. Watson, Jr. Fellow and graduated with honors from the University of Iowa in 2017, earning degrees in political science and economics. During her time at Iowa, Lauren served as a student teaching assistant for the Iowa Policy Research Organization, wrote an honors thesis on the impacts of affordable housing on metropolitan communities, and served as the student body vice president in the University of Iowa Student Government. After graduation, Lauren volunteered with AmeriCorps VISTA in the city of Albion, Michigan, where she did GIS mapping and helped plan community-wide events and resource fairs. After AmeriCorps, she moved back to her hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa where she worked in the city’s community development department, coordinating city-owned property disposition projects and serving as the staff liaison to the Historic Preservation Commission. Lauren is passionate about serving her community and is excited about pursuing future leadership positions in local government.