About Us

As political director, Lauren W. Reliford, MSW, is responsible for developing and implementing Sojourners’ policy strategy, positioning, framing, messaging, and advocacy for outreach and impact on Capitol Hill and the presidential administration. She is a passionate and mission-oriented public and population health professional focused on bridging the gap between social theory, spirituality, research, and practice to the forefront of our major policy decisions.

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Lauren joins Sojourners with over 10 years of experience in research, policy, advocacy, and government relations. Prior to joining Sojourners, Lauren took her passion for politics and policy and turned it into a profession, focusing on domestic and international public health advocacy for of a number of large nonprofit organizations. She also earned her master’s degree in social work and focused primarily on the biological impacts of trauma in high-risk and vulnerable populations. She credits her time doing frontline social work during the pandemic as a turning point in her life and career and was drawn to Sojourners because it would allow her to continue the good work and act on her morals and values at a policy level.

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She is a native of the Washington, D.C., metro area and earned her B.A. in political science from Boston College and her MSW in social policy-clinical social work at the National Catholic School of Social Services at the Catholic University of America. Lauren is an avid reader, loves her Washington Football Team, and spends time with her two dachshunds, Walter and Riley, when she needs a break.