Dr. Lauren Pinkston is the co-founder and President of Kindred Exchange . From 2014-2019, she lived in Southeast Asia combining community development philosophies with organic business models to bootstrap effective economic change for families needing safe work. While completing her doctoral dissertation with Clemson University, she discovered business to be a catalyst for community development, especially for survivors of exploitative labor.

Lauren is a writer, a speaker, and a podcaster. She hosts the Upwardly Dependent podcast, hosted by the Kindred Exchange Podcast Network, where she dives into challenging conversations with guests on topics of modern Christianity. 

Lauren enjoys traveling with her family, cooking, and writing about the convergence of faith, culture and justice. She is actively involved with civic responsibilities in her town of Columbia, Tennessee, and is an advocate for ethical supply chains and employment practices.