Lauren Slagter

Lauren Slagter is director of communications and public engagement at Poverty Solutions, and she previously worked as a senior communications specialist with the research intiative. Prior to joining Poverty Solutions, Slagter spent eight years as a daily news reporter, primarily covering education and housing at MLive / The Ann Arbor News, Kokomo Tribune in Indiana, and Big Rapids Pioneer. Her reporting examined how Michigan’s school choice policy and school funding model contributes to inequity, the impact of poverty on students’ learning, how the housing voucher system reinforces segregation in Washtenaw County, and other issues related to poverty. Slagter’s reporting received numerous awards from the Associated Press, Michigan Press Association, and Hoosier State Press Association. She has a degree in journalism from Grand Valley State University.