An ecosystem strategist for planetary and democratic futures: As a cross-pollinator of ideas and human potential, I worked with mission-driven for profits and nonprofits to build a more just, inclusive, and sustainable world.
A storyteller for environmental impact: I have developed multiple creative media and technology projects in documentary film, music, gaming, and virtual reality for public engagement and collective action on climate.
A builder of tech for good: While most democracy tools are built around moments — elections, protests, and crises — I'm building an AI-backed civic tech platform that gamifies media to strengthen and reward daily democratic engagement.
A nerd who loves school: A triple Ivy League alumna and part-time professor with almost a decade in the classroom, I train my students in practical skills to become active thought leaders and engaged global citizens.
BACKGROUND
Lauren E. Graham is an educator and ecosystems strategist for planetary and democratic futures. She is the founder of Velvet Frame, a bespoke impact philanthropy advisory that guides next-gen philanthropists in funding systems change with clarity, courage, and care.
Lauren is also launching Daily Acts of Democracy, a civic tech platform that connects democracy to the issues you care about through gamified media, personalized actions, and a points-to-rewards system you can redeem for values-aligned goods, services, and experiences in the real world.
Lauren is an adjunct professor teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in nonprofit management, entrepreneurship, resilience, and sustainability at the University of Pennsylvania, City University of New York, Fashion Institute of Technology, Bard College MBA in Sustainability, and The Carbonauts. She has guest lectured at several institutions, including Yale, NYU, and USC, and has presented for corporations including Amazon, Disney, AT&T, and Discovery.
Institutions & Partners
She has a TEDx talk titled The fight for democracy and the planet begins in the classroom, and a new talk, How to rebuild a broken world with tenderness and imagination. She has served as a poll worker/elections inspector since 2020.
THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY AND THE PLANET BEGINS IN THE CLASSROOM ▸In her past impact consulting, Lauren worked with a range of mission-driven clients, including M. Night Shyamalan Foundation, Thurgood Marshall Institute/Legal Defense Fund, Black Women in Asset Management, LIFT, Rutgers, and Penn Law.
Fireside chat with Tom SteyerPHILANTHROPIST, PROGRESSIVE ACTIVIST, ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATE, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ▸Lauren's previous roles include serving as the Co-Chair of Operations for Founders for Kamala, the Chief of Staff at Hunger Free America, a Senior Associate at the sustainability consulting firm The Cadmus Group, and the Director of Innovation for Climate Access where she led a FEMA-funded project called Look Ahead San Francisco, a virtual reality mobile app visualizing the impacts of sea-level rise and the potential for climate action. Lauren's international experience includes working in Kenya Red Cross Society to pilot Humans vs. Mosquitoes, an educational climate change and malaria social impact game.
She is a dedicated volunteer and has served on the boards of several nonprofit and alumni organizations in the environment and sustainability space, including the Natural Areas Conservancy and the GEOS Institute. Lauren is Chair Emerita of the alumni environment/sustainability group Yale Blue Green that she led for over a decade. In 2022, Lauren became the youngest alum to be awarded the Yale Medal — the highest award presented by the Yale Alumni Association honoring outstanding individual service to the University.
How to Rebuild a Broken World with Tenderness and ImaginationTHE BIG TALK WITH TRICIA BROUK ▸Lauren has a B.A. in International Relations and M.A. in Sociology from Stanford University, an M.E.M. from Yale School of the Environment, and an M.S. in Nonprofit Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice. She is a Certified Impact Philanthropy Advisor through Daylight Advisors, and holds a Certificate in Advising for Impact from the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at The University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice.