Lauren Andersen is the University Dean of Industry and Talent Partnerships at the City University of New York. In this role, she leads the University’s efforts to ensure postgraduate career success of CUNY students and support the recovery and growth of New York’s inclusive economy. Prior to assuming this role in July 2021, Lauren was the Executive Director of the NYC Tech Talent Pipeline (TTP), Mayor Bill de Blasio’s signature initiative to support the growth of the tech ecosystem by delivering quality talent for the city’s businesses and quality jobs for New Yorkers.

As head of the City’s tech industry partnership, she worked with the city’s leading tech employers, academic institutions, and training providers to support new and expanded education solutions and to ensure long-term alignment of workforce needs and educational opportunities through policy and partnerships. These efforts included the launch of a $24M initiative — CUNY 2x Tech — which successfully doubled the number of tech bachelors awarded across CUNY and improved the rate of employment among computer science graduates at seven senior colleges. As a part of these efforts, CUNY also launched the Tech-in-Residence Corps (TIRC), a group of industry professionals (from 60+ companies including Google, LinkedIn, Salesforce) who commit to teaching for-credit electives on in-demand technologies across 10 colleges. To date, TIRC has enrolled over 3,000 students across CUNY. Prior to working for the City of New York, Lauren served as a Policy Advisor in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where she worked on initiatives to broaden participation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields and served as liaison to the White House Council on Women and Girls. Her previous work experience also includes positions on the Youth Economic Opportunity team at Citi Foundation, the Obama for America campaign in Florida, and a variety of digital and broadcast media outlets. Lauren received her Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, and an MPA from Columbia University.