Lauren Buitta

Lauren is Founder and CEO of Girl Security, an organization redefining who shapes the future of security by centering the insights and intelligence of those most impacted by security challenges, starting with girls. Through All Secure, a new design lab powered by Girl Security, her team works alongside youth to translate these insights through intergenerational design into new frameworks and technologies that strengthen communities, advance collective intelligence, and build a more secure and resilient future.

‍

Prior to founding Girl Security, she spent over a decade providing strategic and analytical support on local policy issues, including exclusionary land use policies and racial segregation in Chicago. From 2002 to 2007, she served as a national security policy analyst at a Chicago-based think tank, specializing in national security law.

‍

She has been named one of the Most Influential People in Security by Security Magazine and one of 50 Women Making the World a Better Place by InStyle Magazine, and is a recipient of the 21st Century Leader Award from the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. Her fellowships include the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Truman National Security Project, the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security, and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Emerging Leaders program. She is mom to two amazing kids.