Lauren Gentry

Development Manager

Lauren Gentry (she/her) is Development Manager for Grantmakers for Effective Organizations. In this role, she works closely with the Director of Membership & Development and the Membership Specialist to strengthen GEO’s community of grantmakers and to advance its mission of transforming philanthropy in service of nonprofits and communities.

Previously, Lauren worked as the Development Manager at Metro Theater Company in St. Louis, where she actively led conversations on equity and diversity and helped to elevate its national profile, and as a School Administrator for the Boston Ballet, where she supervised and trained part-time staff and supported school operations. Lauren has also worked as a freelance grantwriter, supporting organizations dedicated to serving young people in need.

Lauren holds a Master of Science in Arts Administration with a Certificate in Fundraising Management from Boston University and a Bachelor of Art in Global Studies with a focus on anthropology and East Asian studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In pursuit of her loves for both the performing and literary arts, Lauren reviews international literature and currently serves on the nonprofit board of the Big Muddy Dance Company, as a member of the Feminist Press’ Young Feminist Leaders Council, and as an ambassador for Archipelago Books. She remains actively engaged with the St. Louis community as a member of the St. Louis Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and as a voice in the budding Community Centric Fundraising movement.