Lauren Brietling

Outreach coordinator

While growing up in a suburb of Chicago, Lauren spent many summers camping with her family and fell in love with being in nature. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in photography from Columbia College Chicago, where she incorporated the outdoors in many of her projects. After graduating, Lauren did graphic design work but then decided to switch gears and hiked 800 miles of the Appalachian Trail. After completing that hike she decided she wanted to more directly give back to nature. In 2016 Lauren joined the Utah Conservation Corps, where she worked along the Escalante River eradicating the invasive Russian Olive tree. After her term with UCC, Lauren moved to Asheville, North Carolina where she worked as a corps member with the American Conservation Experience (ACE). While working with ACE she did many projects such as trail building, historic preservation, invasive species removal, and more. After her time as a corps member, Lauren moved on to be the Logistics Coordinator for ACE. She is very excited to be working with EcoForesters, where her love for nature as well as photography and design can both be utilized. In her free time Lauren also enjoys teaching and making pottery, and spending time outdoors near water with her dog.