Lauren is a Chilean American writer covering gardening, food and sustainability. Her work has appeared in Reader's Digest, Better Homes & Gardens, Southern Living, Business Insider, HuffPost Food, MindBodyGreen, The Healthy, The Kitchn, The Spruce Eats and Verywell Fit.

During a nine-month backpacking adventure from East to South Africa, she noticed that quality produce grown in South Africa wasn't readily available at local grocery stores because it was exported. This led to her interest in gardening, growing her own food and volunteering at a community garden and the well-known Edible Schoolyard, created by Alice Waters.

She has since worked as a garden and nutritional educator for grades K–12, encouraging kids and teens to enjoy being in the garden, try new veggies and fruits and cook with garden ingredients. She has 15 years of experience growing herbs, vegetables and flowers in containers, raised beds and in-ground. She has also managed a farmers market and is well-versed in myriad issues related to sustainability and our complex global food system.