Lauren Baer is an attorney and foreign policy expert who served for six years as an official in the Obama administration, acting as a senior advisor to Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, and to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power. During her time in government, she was responsible for ensuring that the promotion of U.S. values remained central to foreign policy and advised on a range of critical national security issues related to human rights and international law. With a reputation for strong management skills and success working across the aisle, Lauren also oversaw large-scale initiatives to make government work better, and to engage everyday people and businesses on U.S. foreign policy.

In 2018, Lauren was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Congress in Florida's 18th District. One of the earliest candidates placed on the DCCC’s prestigious Red to Blue list, Lauren received dozens of endorsements, earned national media attention, and won more votes in the district than any Democrat had during a midterm election.

A staunch advocate for diversity in politics and LGBTQ rights, Lauren sits on the Board of Trustees of the Florida Democratic Party, the Jewish Democratic Council of America NextGen Leadership Council, the LGBTQ Victory Fund Campaign Board, and the United States Global Leadership Coalition’s Florida Advisory Committee. In 2020, she founded More Like America, an organization dedicated to electing leaders who are more reflective of the diverse communities that they serve.

Lauren holds a B.A. from Harvard University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and an MPhil from the University of Oxford, where she was a Marshall Scholar. She is a frequent political commentator and has been featured on outlets including MSNBC, CNN, PBS, and CSPAN. Lauren lives with her wife, Emily, and their young daughter, Serena.