Lauren Kulhanjian Conrow

About LaurenKulhanjian

Lauren Kulhanjian Conrow is an urbanist, activist, and scholar working to mainstream communal perspectives within community development practice and policy. Curiosity and connectivity make her world go ‘round; originally from San Francisco, her career has spanned four continents and six countries. As a Master’s candidate in Sustainable Urban Development at the University of Oxford, Lauren is currently conducting dissertation research on social capital’s effect on community resilience. Her work emphasizes collective housing and participatory design approaches, as well as Indigenous and decolonial perspectives in spatial development.

Lauren currently serves as Co-Lead for the New Urban Agenda Write-shop series at the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in Nairobi, Kenya. There, she works to increase the inclusion of diverse and Indigenous stakeholders within the Secretary-General reporting processes. Lauren previously served as a US Peace Corps Community Economic Development Facilitator, living and working within a highly communal, Indigenous Fijian village. She co-led women’s economic empowerment initiatives alongside local Fijian counterparts, developing a village-owned shopping center to improve rural-urban linkages. Her experience living collectively and learning from her host community’s land-based wisdom powerfully informs her current research and development practice.

Lauren is grateful for learning experiences that challenge her Western training through sustained engagement with non-Western ways of knowing. Ultimately, she aims to develop spaces that foster interconnection and open-hearted dialogue between people, place, and planet. Her interests also include art history (particularly the influence of spirituality on the genesis of Abstract Expressionism), non-fiction literature, time spent in nature, writing, live music, and joyful dressing.