—Systemic change begins with personal change—
Lauren Carlisle (They/Them/Theirs) is a performing artist, writer, coder, education technology research professional, relationship skills coach and trapeze student. Raised in a southern christian evangelical home and vocally a-religious since 2004, Lauren's personal and creative journey focused on self-discovery and recovery on stage, page, and pole.
Lauren's professional career explores the intersection of technology, business, and education. Lauren's public service journey has centered around transgender rights and mental health. Lauren currently lives with their husband (Ben) and two cats (Hamm and Violet) in Washington DC where they serve as a member of the board of directors of HIPS, a local harm reduction non-profit. When not at work(s), Lauren can be found on the flying or static trapeze.
Lauren's unusual knack for attracting a refined mix of brilliance and emotional unavailability created a storied dating life from 2010-2019 which included actors, pick-up artists, doctors without borders (or was it boundaries?), CIA agents (who shouldn't have confessed that), astrophysicists, and Daniel J. Jones, author of the 2014 CIA Torture Report, who was portrayed by Adam Driver in The Report (2019), among others. Approaching 600 episodes and a few years into a personal podcast, I'm bringing Lauren on partly as a fascinating person, partly to share more about my past, like my episodes with my mom, whom Lauren met, or the Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll series. Lauren and I dated during the time I was coaching (mostly) men dating and attraction skills. Lauren knew all about that. We learned and grew together. We've kept in touch in the decade since. In this episode we share about the experience. You can hear both Lauren's fascinating experience in psychology, philosophy, and more as well as a view of my growth from protective geek to more open dare-I-say leader. Lauren describes both better than I could, so I recommend listening.