With a background in Psychology (BA, 2010), Philosophy (BA, 2014), and Sustainability Management (MES, 2017), Lauren came to the SEE Lab for her PhD (SERS, UWaterloo, expected 2023) to study whether water crisis communication functioned as a mortality reminder from a Terror Management Theory perspective. Lauren obtained SSHRC funding (Vanier CGS) and determined certain water crises activated death-thoughts (results published in People & Nature) and reinforced environmental worldviews (under review) in her participants. She also tested water crises influence on judgements about female vs. male water managers, to explore the gender equity gap in water management (forthcoming).

Lauren will expand her research as a post-doc at Royal Roads University to further investigate gender dynamics within environmental care work commitments among post-secondary environmental education alumni. This research will contribute to and expand on the SSHRC Partnership Development Grant (Wolfe). Lauren aims to later explore gender dynamics in Western deathcare in a neoliberal, capitalist society. When she's not reading about existential dread or adding to her skull collection, Lauren can be found hiking or searching for whales with her rescue dog, Osiris.