Lauren Hershey

Lauren Hershey has worked in development, both domestically and internationally for nonprofits and in consulting – with private and public sector clients. She holds a master’s degree from University College London in development administration and planning with an emphasis on water and sanitation and sustainable infrastructure in the Global South and bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and journalism.

As Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research’s (FFAR) associate director of strategic partnerships, Hershey serves as the senior research lead on the Development Team, providing prospect research to staff and investigating potential funding partners and untapped industries. She also supports scientific program directors in forming partnerships for their Challenge Area programs.

Hershey served in Mali in the United States Peace Corps between 2011 and 2012 following the completion of her bachelor’s degrees from The University of Georgia. While in Mali, she worked with rural communities in health education, specifically pertaining to improved nutrition, family planning, reproductive health and WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene). It was there that she also developed a passion for the promotion and adoption of food, water and agricultural sustainability and its education both domestically and abroad. Since then, she worked for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, World Vision International’s Food Assistance team, FEMA’s Individual and Community Preparedness Division and CARE USA’s Competitive Bids Unit.

Hershey’s background in business development includes corporate sponsorship, individual giving, state and federal contracting and partnerships. She enjoys working on proposals, especially during the revision stages and touts public speaking as a strong suit due to her background in fundraising with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Hershey speaks Spanish and Bambara and is pursuing fluency in French through evening classroom study.