Speaker Profile

Lauren Proby is a policy and social justice advocate with a passion for disability law and policy. She will graduate in May 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in English (Pre-Law) from Spelman College. Currently serving as Co-President of the Disability Leadership Coalition on her campus, Lauren co-founded this organization to serve as a student-led space focused on advocacy and community-building for Spelman students with disabilities.

Outside of Spelman, Lauren's advocacy work has spanned government, nonprofit, and research spaces. At present, she is a Board of Directors member at the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Illinois. Most recently, Lauren completed a year-long Disability Law, Policy, and Innovation Fellowship at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, where she researched the increase in involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations since the implementation of the 988 Crisis Line. Lauren also represented students with disabilities on her state special education advisory council for over three years as the first student in over a decade to serve in this role. She formerly worked in policy fellow roles with the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network and the National Disability Rights Network.

Lauren ultimately plans to pursue an advanced degree in law or public policy to use this educational background to protect and propel the rights of people with disabilities.