Experts & Staff

Lauren (Cole) Zelin is the Senior Media Officer for the World Resources Institute, where she works to advance the organization’s goals of protecting the earth and improving people’s lives through domestic and international projects. She brings extensive knowledge of WRI’s issues and skills as a communications strategist, with more than six years of public relations experience, and two years as a working journalist. At WRI, Lauren has worked on a wide range of projects including the successful launch of the new GHG Protocol Product and Corporate Value Chain standards, solar energy, the Next Practice Collaborative, climate adaptation, eutrophication, ecosystem services, and more.

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Lauren joined WRI from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) where she was a contractor to the Technology Advancement and Outreach Program. At DOE, she consulted on a range of communications and strategy initiatives including a residential energy efficiency pilot, an environmental education program, the Home Energy Score pilot launch, and EISA-compliant lighting choices.

Prior to DOE, Lauren was Manager of Corporate Development and Communications for Clear Carbon, a boutique carbon consulting firm that was purchased by Deloitte at the end of 2010. Additionally, she spent nearly four years at Edelman Public Relations Worldwide in the Corporate Communications practice, focusing primarily on business sustainability for Walmart.

Lauren holds a BSJ from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. She was born and raised in Bethesda, MD, loves to travel, and currently lives in Washington, DC, with her husband Michael Zelin.