Written by Montzerrath C., high school River Ranger at The Greenway Foundation, age 18
Job Description: Lauren Berent is an Associate Director of the Water Connection for the Greenway Foundation. She focuses on local water resources (the Platte River, Cherry Creek), alongside undertaking community events, volunteer opportunities, and other water-related projects.
Lauren started off at the University of Michigan working at a research facility but soon went to pursue her interest in the Environmental Education field, as she enjoyed a more hands-on approach towards Environmental Education. Lauren has worked in various fields, starting off in the food industry as a waiter, to working as a research assistant, all the way up to now as an Associate Director. Being outside and helping the community/environment is one of her favorite things about her career path, alongside ‘connecting people to the natural world’.
“A day in the life” for Lauren as the Associate Director for The Water Connection, consists of meetings around budget projections and project funding. Along with setting up educational water challenges for local colleges. A piece of advice Lauren would give to a young person interested in this field/job would be to branch out and try new things that interest you, as you’ll never really know what new skills/experiences can come out of it. That being said, she recommends getting involved in local non-profits in your area that offer volunteer experience and even joining local board meetings your city might host.
