Lauren Dobell
Director of Partnerships, Vancity
Lauren joined Vancity’s community investment team in 2011 as Director of Partnerships. The role draws on an array of previous episodes in international development (Southern African reconciliation and reconstruction strategies in particular), government relations, public policy-shaping at all levels, journalism, and academia, as well as the Canadian Councils (for international cooperation, unity, learning) that are an oddly recurring theme in her resume. During her bi-hemisphere, tri-continent years, she once enjoyed seven consecutive summers, and carelessly misplaced much luggage (both literal and metaphorical), countless pairs of sunglasses, and occasionally her sense of perspective. These days, the real economy-focused, wealth-redefining good work going on in and around Vancity fuels an overriding optimism.