Lauren Zielinski

Lauren joined the CRC staff as a Stream Restoration Specialist in July 2024. She has a BSc in Earth and Environmental Engineering from Columbia University and an MSc in Ecohydrology from UNESCO-IHE (now IHE Delft) in The Netherlands. She has worked in river science, watershed management, and environmental flows since 2010 and collaborated on projects across the United States and Africa. Some of her highlights include conducting environmental monitoring for stream restoration projects in Lake Tahoe, completing field work in Maasai Mara National Reserve and Serengeti National Park to determine environmental flows in the Mara River in Kenya and Tanzania, leading the first ever environmental flow assessment in the Ouémé River Delta in Benin, and coordinating training courses on water accounting in several countries in Northern Africa and the Near East.

Lauren grew up in New Hampshire admiring the beautiful landscapes and waterways, but it wasn’t until she discovered stream restoration during an AmeriCorps internship did her appreciation for water really blossom. Now she works on all aspects of stream restoration, from grant funding and project management to engineering and construction oversight. When she’s not in the water, you can usually find Lauren hiking and camping in the woods or traveling the globe in search of adventure.