Lauren believes that her primary relationship is with the Land; it is here she feels closest to Creator. She enjoys this relationship through silence and listening, canoeing, snowshoeing, food and medicine gathering, hiking, and in time will rejoin the earth with peace. Her mixed heritage is English and non-status Plains Indigenous.

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She is very proud of and enjoys the company of her four adult children and is a happy grandmother to one little girl.

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She lives on an acreage near Fort St. James on the ancestral, traditional and unceded territory of the Nak'azdli Whuten.

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Lauren writes poetry and creates art. When creating, she likes to bring others along for the journey.

 

She is currently working on her Doctorate of Ministry in Land-based wellness, spirituality and expressive arts through St. Stephen’s College. Her undergraduate work was in Education at Simon Fraser University and she holds a Master of Arts in Public and Pastoral Leadership from Vancouver School of Theology.

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Her conference presentations and workshops have included Spiritual Storytelling; Therapeutic Arts; Four Directions to Wellness; Wellness, Spirituality and the Land; My Cup Overflows: Wellness Strategies for Ministry, Land-Based Healing and Wellness, Creative Wellness Retreats, Grief, Loss and Self-Care; Complicated Grief; Practical Coping Strategies for Recent Loss, A Poetic Journey Through Grief and Loss, Julia Cameron’s Artists Way; Worth the Energy! The Effects of Spiritual/Energy Healing Upon Spiritual Health; Opening the Circle: Advocating for and Supporting Greater Indigenous Participation in Spiritual Health/Care; Celebration of the Spirit: Renewal Through Spiritual Health; Spiritual Health in Palliative and End-of-Life Care; Relationship Violence with Elders and Elder Abuse; Smoking Cessation as a Feminist Act; Surviving Your Client’s Crisis; Super-Woman Syndrome; Assertiveness not Aggression; Taming Your Social Worker, The Joy Workshop, Stress Management.

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Awards received include the Charles Jago Award for Empathy, Golden Key Society Honorary Membership, Shooting Star Award (Volunteer PG), and recognition from the then-Ministry of Women’s Equality for work with women and their children on Haida Gwaii.

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She served on the Board of the provincial branch of the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care from 2008 to the 2023 as Member-at-Large, Vice Chair, Chair and Past-Chair. She currently serves on the Advisory Committees of Pope Mountain Arts and the Health Arts Research Centre.

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She worked in human service spanning over 45 years, including a decade as the Manager of Spiritual Health for the Northern Health Authority. Most recently she was a counsellor for the College of New Caledonia for six years. Currently she is self-employed through Myriad Wares and Services.

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