Lauren W. Bright

Lauren W. Bright leads the foundation’s legal team and is responsible for all legal matters and activities pertaining to the foundation and its affiliate organizations. In this capacity, she advises the foundation’s trustees, CEO, senior leadership, and staff on legal issues, is a member of the Executive Leadership Team, and serves as corporate secretary to the foundation’s board of trustees.

Lauren’s responsibilities include managing global legal affairs, governance, conflict of interest issues, and legal risk management. Before her appointment as CLO, she served as the foundation’s co-general counsel and director of the foundation’s Washington, D.C., office.

Before joining the foundation in 2005, Lauren worked at the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, where she served nonprofit clients on a variety of legal issues, including governance, tax exemption, transactions, mergers, and legislative and regulatory issues. Over the course of her career, she has represented institutions and companies before the U.S. Congress and administrative agencies regarding federal education policies and programs.

Lauren is the author of several articles on association practice and management and is a frequent speaker on legal topics affecting nonprofit organizations. She has also been a guest lecturer on legal issues affecting tax-exempt organizations at the University of Washington Law School Graduate Tax Program.

Lauren received a J.D. from Villanova University’s Charles Widger School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Gettysburg College, where she currently serves as Chair of the Board of trustees.