Lauren was born and raised overseas the first nine years of her life (Portugal, England, Brazil). Being exposed to different cultures at such a young age instilled in her a keen interest and appreciation for other cultures and people. She has since looked for opportunities to engage internationally through studies, work and activities. Lauren has held global marketing roles with several companies. Most recently, she was Director of International Digital Marketing at VMware, where she built out an international web presence and partnered with countries and regions on marketing programs. She was fortunate to join the company last summer to develop and execute a teacher training curriculum for a school in the South African township of Diepsloot. Lauren has volunteered with Kiva as an editor for the Review and Translation Program since 2013, and has been inspired by the stories of entrepreneurs working to create a better life for themselves and their communities. Through this fellowship, she looks forward to meeting some of the entrepreneurs she reads about in her loan reviews. In her spare time, Lauren coaches Special Olympics soccer, serves on an advisory committee for Team4Tech non-profit, and enjoys performing as a local singer/songwriter.