Lauren Cristella
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Lauren Cristella

President & CEO

267-861-6041

It was Lauren's passion for active citizenship, strong public leadership and practical policy-making that led her to Broad Street and the organization that shares her dedication. In 2018, Lauren began her career at C70 as the Chief Program Officer, and in June 2023, she was named President & CEO, the first woman to serve in that role in the organization's 119-year history.

Lauren has previously served as the President of the League of Women Voters of Philadelphia, where she focused on rebuilding the organization and equipping volunteers to have a positive impact on elections at the grassroot level.

Additionally, Lauren currently serves on the Board of the Forum of Executive Women. She is also a member of Impact100 Philadelphia.

Prior to joining C70, Lauren was the Director of Student Affairs & Strategic Operations at Penn's Fels Institute of Government. She spent seven years ensuring that students had excellent internships and job prospects in government, nonprofits, and private firms that serve the public interest. She also secured a number of record-breaking gifts to Fels, in addition to overseeing dozens of events each year and general operations.

Before joining Fels, Lauren spent five fun years at the National Constitution Center. During her tenure there, Lauren worked in the education department, where she first began to wish that people would celebrate Constitution Day (September 17th) without being legally obligated to do so. She later joined the Center's senior management team as the Director of Special Projects for the CEO. In that position, Lauren led the team that created the Center's blog, Constitution Daily, and facilitated the creation and adoption of a new five- year strategic plan. Lauren was also a member of the Center's international team, which was responsible for the creation of the Being We the People exhibition and website, as well as a guide to voting in national elections for Afghan citizens, created in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme.

Lauren received her bachelor's degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where she majored in politics, and interned at the International Center for Terrorism Studies. She went on to receive her master's degree from the University of Essex in Colchester, England in Ethics, Politics and Public Policy.

Lauren, her husband, their two kids, and their dogs, Utley and Kelce, reside in South Philadelphia so they can easily feed their love of Philly sports teams and good food.