Lauren Slocum '15

President & CEO
Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce

Award Profile

Courageous Thinking and Action
As the President and CEO of one of largest and most successful Chambers of Commerce in RI, this phrase embodies daily life for Lauren Slocum. Th e role that she and her team play in the business community is both courageous and action packed. Her phone rings day and night, 7 days a week, with multiple questions, “Lauren, I need your help, I have a problem, how can I accomplish this, what do I do, did you hear, how can I?”

2010 bears witness to one of the greatest examples of her courage and action. Floods suddenly devastated much of Rhode Island, and many Central Rhode Island businesses were wiped out or shut down and product and supplies were destroyed. Due to her dedication and strong relationships throughout the community, Lauren and her team found generators, clean-up crews, supplies, water and temporary space where none previously existed. Due to the strong working relationship with the City of Warwick and Mayor Scott Avedisian, Lauren served as an assistance center at the Chamber for the membership so she and her team could assist devastated businesses navigate the maze of available services. Thankfully, with that level of action and courageous thinking, the Chamber was able to play a vital role in helping the business and community at a time of widespread devastation.

Vision and Innovation
“The Entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well” and that spirit is what sparks and drives Lauren every day, in every way. Her relationships throughout the State, enable her to quickly assess and troubleshoot an entrepreneur’s dreams, visualize the path needed to accomplish the goal. To that end, Lauren partnered with the U.S. SBA to create and house one of the first “Business Assistance Centers” in Rhode Island. Housed in the Chamber, entrepreneurs can come in free of charge to access research materials, write business plans and meet with representatives
from SCORE. Having served over 500 people just last year alone, this has proven to be an invaluable business resource for so many.

Inspiring Leadership
Someone once said “A leader is the person who can motivate themselves, while inspiring others through example, to accomplish a goal, task or vision without any need or desire for credit.” That’s Lauren. She has a Masters in “Inspiring Leadership.” At the end of the day, she brings together the right group of people, empowers them to accomplish the task, motivates them by example and then just lets them go to “do their magic.”

Community Mindedness
Lauren’s deep-rooted belief is you always give to those in need, those who you can help and those who are generous enough to support you in one fashion or another. She brings that philosophy to the Chamber, her board of directors and member volunteers embracing it thoroughly with projects like Earth Day clean-up, and the Chamber’s “adopt a family” during the holiday season. Whether it’s the Warwick Rotary Club, Th e RI Mentoring Partnership, Westbay Community Action, Boys & Girls Clubs, Goodwill Industries, Work Opportunities Unlimited, The Trudeau Center and countless other non-profits, the Chamber, its staff and friends are always there when needed. Lauren says “We are never stronger as a community than when we band together on a common goal or mission.” She continues to give as she coaches Warwick high school seniors as they prepare for their Senior Project presentations. Helping to encourage, support and guide our youth is critical to developing a strong
community.

JA Mission Moment
I believe that it is the Mission – to inspire and prepare young people to succeed - that defines Junior Achievement as an organization. It is a deep-rooted, on-going passion of education and commitment to our youth. I thoroughly enjoy volunteering and working with these young people and believe firmly that when they leave our nest they are stronger and better prepared to succeed in the real world than when they walked in. Th e truth is, I’m always amazed at the joy, happiness, perspective and amazement they bring to us each and every day. When they walk-out our door, they take a piece of us with them and they’ll always have friends at Th e Central Rhode Island Chamber.