“What inspires me as an artist is to inspire hearts and minds one conversation at a time.”
Lauren Klein
Reno, Nevada
Biography
Lauren is a change leader who creates deep and meaningful communities, outcomes and new programs in the tech industry.
She has been one of the few women in the male dominated fields in technology. Throughout out her career, she has presented over 20 times at national and international conferences, she has moderated tech panels such as StartupNV’s Angel Investor 2020 Training in Las Vegas and was the Emcee for UNR International Symposium on Women 2019 and Emcee for Governor Sandoval’s entrepreneurship pitch competition in 2016.
She has published articles industry magazines such as Knowledge Management Magazine, Smashed, and Customer Think on topics such as Digital Communities and Leadership. She has contributed to chapters in books such as; #DearFemaleFounder and business books, and has worked for major companies like Hitachi, Cisco, VISA, Micron, Nestle, Sunrise Telecommunications in Zurich, Seattle Space Labs ATT, HP, Alestra, Iusacell and MCI in Mexico City, and a variety of startups.
Lauren has received various awards, such as Reno People Project Honoree amongst 150 individuals recognized for making an impact in the City of Reno for the sesquicentennial birthday, the 2018 eDAWN Trailblazer Award and was one of two hundred national nominees who attended the White House South By South Lawn (SXSL) event on October 3rd, 2016. She won the 2016 NCET Technology Advocate - Ecosystem Award and 2016 Girl Scouts of Sierra Nevada Inspiration Award for Women of Leadership, #DearFemaleFounder. She has been the keynote speaker for National Charity League Annual Meeting 2018 of Sierra Nevada and Microsoft Reno DigiGirlz 2015, and has been an invited speaker for ABWA Reno-Tahoe Express, UNR Student Delta Chi organization, Change Makers 2017 Reno program. She is often judging business plan or technology competitions such as the UNR Sontag, Governor’s Cup and Space Apps Challenge and the Microsoft Reno Hackathon. Lauren owns Girlmade which powers the Brekkie for Bosses program and the Girl Empire un-conference.
Artist’s Work
Building a Forest
Lauren’s Tree Concept
Alice in Wonderland Tree
COVID19 has made me feel bonkers at times, as such I am reminded that often the best people are bonkers.
I was immediately reminded me of that age-old tale of falling through the looking glass. The protagonist of that book, Alice, felt like she knew who and where she was in the morning only to feel torn and twisted countless times later that very same day. That spinning and falling feeling is what I have felt this entire pandemic; the unsure destination, expecting a finale when there might not be one, and suspecting our starting point might just be a tipping point.
I’m feel honored to be alive, yet changing and evolving every day. As such, I’m creating an Alice in Wonderland Tree , to serve as a portal during this surreal time, and as a reminder that we can dream and come up with incredible things with our minds.
The materials will be a steel cage with solid exterior that will have a textured and twisted bark. Essentially a 6-8-foot-wide stump (base) that will allow visitors to sit inside the trunk to meditate or enter the portal. We will have lighting that will be inviting within the ‘hole’ in the trunk. We are planning the tree will stand 8-10 feet tall.
