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Our Team
Founder: Lauren Harteveldt
Lauren Harteveldt is now a freshman in college at Dartmouth College. A jarring and eye-opening anti-semetic event during her freshman year history class at Greenwich Academy principally inspired her directly to promote change through involvement in diversity work, particularly as it regards the ideology of allyship. Unsure, initially, of how she should act, and aware that there is much still to learn, Lauren first broadened her involvement as an advocate and a leader through her participation in the Greenwich Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC), where she began to problem-solve solutions to systematic diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues. There she began to learn the importance of making a stand and encouraging change for the betterment of society, leading her to then participate in the Connecticut SDLC and the National SDLC. These conferences allowed her to create a web of allies with students from around the country, learning from their experiences to help her promote change within her own community. Lauren wanted to broaden her reach and founded AspiringAlly during her sophomore year to raise awareness among youth and empower them to take action. Aspiringally.org also aims to unite young people around the world through allyship by spreading awareness about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion.
During high school, Lauren was involved in numerous clubs at Greenwich Academy including the White-Anti Racist Affinity Group (President), Gay Straight Alliance (Vice President), and also founded the AspiringAlly club. She is also a Co-chair of the First Selectman's Youth Commission of Greenwich and a member of Greenwich Youth For Justice. Since the launch of AspiringAlly, Lauren has also planned and organized the Greenwich Student Diversity Leadership Conference and facilitated workshops in many other conferences. Finally, Lauren is one of four recipients of the Greenwich Racial Justice Scholarship Award and the YWCA Women Who Inspire Next Generation Honoree (2021) for peer leadership and community engagement.
At Dartmouth, Lauren is involved in the DREAM program, which works towards closing the opportunity gap for youth living in low-income housing communities. Furthermore, she is an OPAL Peer Inclusivity Facilitator, through which she has been trained and equipped with the skills necessary to engage in thoughtful facilitations through continuous practice and familiarity with workshop content and social justice topics. Lauren is also a part of America Reads, where she works to instill a love of reading in children and to equip them with the tools to succeed academically. This upcoming Summer, Lauren will be working as a College Intern at Horizons at Brunswick and will be interning at the Center for Civil and Human Rights’ LGBTQ Institute.
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