Name: Lauren Vanessa Zink. People always call me Laura by mistake. I’m considering switching to Vanessa, but I can’t decide if that’s too strange, going by a brand-new name.
Age: 25.
Where do you live? I currently live in Midtown. I have to admit it makes me a little bit of an ITP snob.
How long have you been involved in YWTF? Why did you join? I found YWTF on PINK Magazine’s website of women’s organizations in September of 2010. I was so excited to find a group that was dedicated to younger women. It felt so much more accessible to me than some of the other women’s groups I’ve stumbled upon. I came to a meeting and loved it; everyone’s so friendly, and I’ve been learning a ton.
What’s your role in YWTF? I am the Director of Marketing & Communications for the chapter and the A.S.C.E.N.D. Conference Co-Chair. You can reach out to me at
lauren.ywtf@gmail.com.
What is your profession? By day, I’m a writer/editor with a consumer reports publication. I have a degree in English from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. One job has never really been enough for me though. Prior to moving to Atlanta, I worked as an interactive producer in Knoxville, and I still volunteered doing marketing for a local performing arts venue. I love learning and growing professionally. Challenge me, I say!
What other forms of activism are you involved in outside of YWTF? I’m one of those women that was born to volunteer. When I’m not doing work for YWTF, you can find me donating blood to the American Red Cross, boxing food at the Atlanta Food Bank, walking for diabetes, doing art projects with kids at Woodruff, handing out flyers for performing arts venues, cutting off all of my hair for wigs for cancer patients.
What does the word feminism mean to you? I think traditionally, feminism has sort of a negative connotation, like, “Here’s a bunch of angry, bra-burning women,” which is laughable, obviously. How many women do you know that would define themselves like that? Hopefully the Younger Women’s Task Force can help change that perception.
What three issues do you care the most about? You’d be hardpressed to limit me to three issues—I care about everyone and everything, really. There are a few things that stand out to me as being important social issues in our country right now. I think we need to make sure we keep arts programming funded and available to our students. (I might be biased on that one, being that I was a huge choir geek in high school.) Secondly, since I moved to Atlanta, homelessness has really become a large concern of mine. Not only do homeless people have to deal with lack of food, water, shelter, health care, money, but then we have horrible, atrocious predators out there that are purposely inflicting violence on them. It makes me so angry to hear those stories. This behavior is inhumane, and there should be strict and swift punishment for it. Then, lastly, domestic violence and abuse—it is never okay.
Who is your shero? Why? My mom for kicking butt and taking names as the single mother of two children, finishing grad school with flying colors while she was raising us, and working her way up to a top position in her field by not following any rules but her own.
What are your hobbies? Singing really loudly until someone catches me and I feel embarrassed. I also love musical theater, volunteering, reading books on growth and development, yoga, traveling when I can save the cash moneyz to do so, and spending time in Piedmont Park.
What are your top three favorite movies? Moulin Rouge for the music and visual stimulation, Crash for the story, and Breakfast at Tiffany’s for Audrey Hepburn.
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