People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep.5: Lauren McLellan, Harvard Business School

Lauren shares her experience as a full-time fundraiser for Harvard Business School who, unexpectedly, hit pause on her career when her second pregnancy included not one but two babies. She talks about prioritizing raising her young family of three kids and sensing when the time would be right to return to philanthropy in some capacity. Mentors who helped Lauren enter the field were there for her again when she and her family felt full-time work would suit them.

With gratitude and reflection, Lauren details how the philanthropy of others personally impacted her life. "Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody other people be somebody" and "Believe in/Be the Good in the World" are two philosophies that Lauren often uses to guide her engagement with donors, co-workers, and friends.

Lauren's concluding message really resonates: "Don't undersell yourself in the value you bring to relationships with your colleagues."