Through her work in the United States Department of Homeland Security, Fortune 500 companies, and United States Congress, Lauren Claffey Tomlinson has become a trusted advisor for CEOs, Senators, Congressmen and high-level officials and executives for more than a decade. Before founding Steer, Lauren held a variety of leadership positions in the public and private sectors, including at the United States Department of Homeland Security as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and at Southern Company as head of corporate communications.

As Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the United States Department of Homeland Security, Lauren led internal and external communication strategies to address major homeland security issues, including the federal government’s response to Hurricane Harvey and Maria in 2017, and countering violent extremism alongside major tech companies.

Prior to her time at DHS, Lauren held a variety of communications roles in the private and public sectors. She was the Communications Director and Spokeswoman for U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee and the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. She led corporate communications for Southern Company, a Fortune 200 energy company, during a period of growth and several major mergers and acquisitions. And since 2015 she has appeared regularly on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, BBC, CNBC, Newsmax, CBS, Bloomberg and Hill TV as a strategist to provide timely political and strategic commentary. She is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and a visiting fellow at George Mason University’s National Security Institute.

An Augusta, Georgia native, Lauren graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and Georgetown University with a master’s degree in corporate communications and public relations. She currently resides in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Brock, and their two children.