LAUREN MIRANDA

Community Builder, User-Centered Innovator, Operator

“As an ambitious empath and a purveyor of human connection,

I believe in the power of good people doing good work”

BACKGROUND

Lauren has established herself as a highly skilled connector, researcher, and human-centered designer. She has over a decade of experience building communities for technology startups and nonprofit organizations, developing worldwide education and training initiatives, leading research efforts to guide product design, and promoting authentic human interactions to cultivate trust, rapport, and inclusivity.

With an Anthropology background and a Master’s degree in International Policy, Lauren is uniquely skilled in applying a human-centered methodology to problem-solving, recognizing that addressing the needs, challenges, and aspirations of the target audience is essential for achieving success. Throughout her career, she has prioritized making a global impact, advancing the interests of marginalized communities, and addressing complex and formidable problems.

Lauren is a natural creative and DIY enthusiast who enjoys exploring various mediums, hosting ‘crafternoons’, and teaching others how to fuel their artistic souls.

This site serves as a portfolio of her professional background and creative modalities.

Professional Expertise

  • With extensive experience building local, global, online, and offline communities within tech, startup, and non-profit industries, Lauren has led both professional and employee resource groups, as well as user and product communities.

    As the Head of Community at Alive Ventures (a venture studio that built new companies to enrich the lives of adults 65 and older), she developed and led a 700 person insight community from the ground up. While at the Wikimedia Foundation, she led strategic workshops at an international level, providing training and support to the 250K volunteer community.

    Lauren is well versed in delivering innovative programming and events to maximize engagement, facilitate knowledge sharing, and foster trust and connection among members.

  • Lauren has led large international research projects including the Wikimedia Foundation’s Movement Learning and Leadership Development and Movement Organizer’s projects. She also drove foundational insights for the startup studio, Alive Ventures, designing and facilitating product and user research sessions while also authoring weekly newsletters and annual report findings.

    Deeply rooted in the power of Human-centered design, Lauren recognizes that to create successful solutions, one must truly understand and address the needs, challenges, and desires of those who we wish to impact. 

  • Lauren is highly skilled at articulating insights into action. With a keen ability to recognize context and nuance, she amalgamates findings to drive impactful innovation and product design. While at Alive Ventures, Lauren streamlined product development by bringing founders and users together in a unique co-design process that rapidly researched, ideated, and defined MVP products. This process directly informed product development for 8 MVP products annually, including Socialize and Welcome Strangers.

    During her tenure as an Advisor at Stanford University, Lauren partnered with the d.school to redesign and enhance the effectiveness of the undergraduate study abroad orientation program.

Creative

  • Textile art

  • Watercolor

  • Pottery

  • ICE DYE

  • Murals

  • BAKED GOODS

ContacT