Lauren Crain is a Senior Advisor at Social Strategy Associates, where she advises philanthropic and social impact organizations on grantmaking strategy, cross-sector collaboration, and equitable workforce development, with a particular focus on immigrant inclusion. 

She previously served as Director of U.S. Strategy and Programs at the World Education Services (WES) Mariam Assefa Fund, the philanthropic arm of WES, a global social enterprise supporting international education and workforce mobility. In that role, she helped establish and grow the Fund’s U.S. grantmaking program, developing strategies to advance economic mobility, job quality, and leadership among immigrants and refugees. 

Lauren serves on the Advisory Council of Harvard’s Next Level Lab and has served on the steering committee of Workforce Matters. She has also advised the J.M. Kaplan Innovation Prize and Welcoming America. Earlier in her career, she held roles at the Aspen Institute and Scholars at Risk. She holds a BA from New York University and an MA from Columbia University.