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Our Organization

Leadership Team

In addition to the Director, the heads of the following teams make up the leadership of the Lawrene

  • Development (Ariel Craft): Leads efforts to build awareness, engagement and support of The Lawrence mission, priorities and impact with individual and organizational supporters and stakeholders.
  • Strategic Communications and Marketing (MJ Johnson)
  • Sponsored Projects (Tim Ereneta)
  • Facilities and Security (Cory Welch): Leads and collaborates regarding the design, production, and maintenance as a shared resource for building programmatic experiences. Responsible for the safety, security, and infrastructure of the Lawrence’s building.
  • Public Engagement (Claudia Bustos): Designs and operates a sustainable science center business that serves the Bay Area community and offers a learning laboratory for some of the work happening through the Lawrence’s Strategic Initiatives.
  • Administration (Flori Ramos): Responsible for administrative and financial management of the Lawrence; interfaces with campus-related workstreams.
  • Product and Business Development (Cameron Yahr): Leads coordination across the Lawrence related to business innovation, business development, and planning.

The Lawrence is overseen by the Vice Chancellor for Research Office (VCRO) at UC Berkeley and the Director reports to the Vice Chancellor.

Strands Structure at The Lawrence

Design: to support Lawrence staff in working collaboratively to improve, innovate, and disseminate our design practices

JEDI: Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion; concerned with centering equity- and justice-focused frameworks, approaches and stances that are fundamental to our programs to inform Group priorities, processes, and practices

Research: to support ongoing research at the Lawrence and develop our capacity to conduct transformative research in STEM education

The strands work across all groups within the Lawrence’s structure.

Resources:

The Lawrence Leadership Teams

Executive Leadership Team (XLT)
Comprised of the Lawrence Executive Director, Deputy Director, Associate Director, and the six Group Executive Directors. The XLT provides overall leadership for The Lawrence and is ultimately responsible for policy and budget.

Equity Leadership Team (ELT)
Comprised of a rotating set of volunteers led by three co-chairs the ELT provides organizational leadership to support the advancement of equity at The Lawrence related to 1) our work environment, 2) our products & services, and 3) our community partnerships.

Program Leadership Team (PLT)
Comprised of program leaders across The Lawrence, this team focuses attention on cross-organization program coordination, strategic priority implementation, human resource allocation, organizational capacity building, and balancing program priorities.

Student Experience Leadership Team* (SLT)
Comprised of student staff and managers, in collaboration with The Lawrence’s Human Resources (HR) office. Their primary roles include: (1) supporting the professional development of student staff; (2) providing a feedback structure to influence decision-making related to student work; (3) providing a forum for student staff ideas and input to be shared. Note that this group is on pause for FY23.

Advisory Structure

The Lawrence’s advisory committees connect us with campus and community stakeholders. They include:

  • An Advisory Council (AC), which functions similarly to a Board (without fiduciary oversight). This group provides strategic advice and fundraising support for The Lawrence.
  • A Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC), which includes faculty members from UC Berkeley who connect, promote, and champion The Lawrence’s work and relationships with campus stakeholders. The Science at Cal Advisory Council includes at least one FAC member and specifically supports the Science at Cal program.

In-development advisory bodies include the Community Advisory Committee and Youth Advisory Committee.