Lauren Gil Hayes

Lauren Gil Hayes (she/they) is a licensed social worker, end-of-life doula, community educator, and grief therapist based in Eastern Iowa. Lauren received a BA in Political Science from the University of Central Florida and an MSW from the University of Chicago, winning the Sonia G. Berz Award for Outstanding Promise in the Field of Aging. 

 Lauren has held direct service and leadership roles in the field of HIV/AIDS, LGBTQ+ health care, arts mentorship, caregiver support, dementia education, and medical social work. Lauren has served as an adjunct professor for the MSW program at St. Ambrose University and has also taught across the country for over a decade. Courses and workshops include: serving the needs of LGBT+ elders; advance directives and our legacies; the role of rituals in preventing burnout; supporting grievers; and hands-on workshops across mediums, including zine-making and herbalism.

Lauren believes that many social issues can be traced through individual and collective grief experiences that have gone unresolved and commits her work to meaning-making, continuing bonds, and community care.