LEADERSHIP COLLABORATIONS

“Lauren’s mentorship, guidance, and fierce determination to create change within the structure of the jazz scene has had a lasting impression in the community and helped influence the careers of many young women.”

—Morgan Pirtle, Vocalist, Former Membership Manger and Women’s Jazz Leadership Initiative co-founder at Jazz Institute of Chicago

  • Women in Jazz Leadership Initiative (JIC- Jazz Institute of Chicago 2015-2018)

    Conceived by the female staff at JIC, the initiative was designed to support young female jazz students by creating a space where they could share their challenges, be mentored by top women jazz artists, attend performances by international female artists and produce an annual Women of Chicago Jazz Festival and a Women’s Jazz Leadership Conference.

  • Jazz Academy Student Leadership Council (CJP-2021-present)

    As an add-on to the existing Jazz Academy program the SLC paired students with professional jazz musicians who mentored them individually as well as monthly mentoring sessions by national artists whom the students met with as a group. To meet a goal of giving agency and voice to students the SLC helped plan courses for their peers at Jazz Academy summer camp.

  • 2Brown Sisters (Maggie and Africa Brown 2020)

    Conducted a prioritization and assessment plan to secure a home for the OBJ archives, maintain and control its contents, develop a licensing schedule for limited rights to OBJ’s works; develop an OBJ “brand” to use in promulgating his work and create a “living archive “or Cyberary that is interactive and accessible to all.