Lauren Lipsey joined AWLA as its CEO in December, 2024 after spending most of her career driving programmatic growth and innovation across a range of roles in both local and national animal welfare organizations, including at Salvar A Las Mascotas Abandonadas in Santiago, Chile, where she started her career as a volunteer. First as Director of Rehoming and then Vice President of Community Programs at the Humane Rescue Alliance in Washington, D.C., Lauren led implementation of landmark initiatives that advanced the field of animal sheltering and lifesaving. This includes the launch of the DC area’s Clear the Shelters event in 2015 and the DC Cat Count from 2018 – 2021. An interdisciplinary research project that brought together wildlife scientists and animal welfare experts from organizations such as the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and PetSmart Charities, the DC Cat Count produced models for constructive collaboration and science-based, population management program development that are now used by animal welfare groups in communities around the world.
With additional experience developing digital fundraising campaigns for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History and as the Director of Constituent Services for Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin at the Council of the District of Columbia, Lauren brings to her role a wealth of experience that will enhance her leadership of AWLA as it continues to grow in its impact and efforts to meet the increasing needs of animals and community pet owners over the coming years.
Lauren holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas and a Master of Science in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She is an avid triathlete and lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her dog (Noodle), cat (Dottie, AWLA alum), her husband, and her two step-daughters.
