Email: laurene@patch.com
Phone: (301) 257-0955 Birthday: October 26 Bio Lauren Evans first aspired to become a journalist around age 11, when it dawned on her what a sweet gig it would be to anchor the evening news. She pursued a degree in International Development Studies at UCLA and, upon graduating in 2008, left her beloved native California and the burritos therein to intern at National Public Radio in Washington, D.C. While vacillating between her love of rich audio and her lifelong obsession with writing, she published pieces at NPR.org, Salon's War Room, the DCist and a handful of other outlets. Lauren has worked for Patch since the heady days of 2010, serving first as the Local Editor in College Park, MD before taking over in Little Neck, Queens. She is delighted to find herself in Windsor Terrace and Kensington, where she intends to remain for a long, long time. Your Beliefs At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know. Politics How would you describe your political beliefs? My approach to politics is situation-specific -- I try to assess issues independently of their partisan baggage before passing judgment. That said, I tend to be very liberal on social issues, and generally support initiatives that favor the environment, gender equality and general harmony.  Religion How religious would you consider yourself? (casual, observant, devout, non religious) I attended Catholic school as a kid, but never really subscribed to institutionalized religion. Nevertheless, I still enjoy the ceremony of church, and have transitioned over the years from a Christmas-Easter Catholic to a Christmas-Easter Unitarian. Local Hot-Button Issues What do you think are the most important issues facing the community? Like much of Brooklyn, Windsor Terrace and Kensington are neighborhoods in transition. Windsor Terrace is home to an increasing number of "Manhattan refugees" and families gradually trickling away from Park Slope. Kensington has a robust immigrant population from around the world, including a recent influx of refugees from Darfur.   These changes are the basis of a number of new developments in both communities, from the opening of more schools to the availability of different cuisine. But change is never easy, and there have been some clashes, like a recent spate of hateful graffiti in Kensington. Whether the news is good or bad, we'll aim to cover it all.