Lauren Leonardis (she, her, hers), owner and founder of Mother and Changemaker Consulting, is an independent consultant specializing in engagement of people with lived experience and youth homelessness issues. She uses her own lived experience in homelessness to inform and motivate her. Ms. Leonardis is a nationally recognized expert on supporting youth leadership and Youth Action Board governance structures. She is a founding director of the Boston Youth Action Board, a consultant for the Massachusetts Special Commission on Youth Homelessness, and co-author of the Massachusetts State Plan to End Youth Homelessness. She was part of the Y5 Consulting team leading the development of the Rising to the Challenge plan to prevent and end youth homelessness for Boston, and is part of TAC’s team supporting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, providing direct TA on youth engagement and YAB support to several communities. Ms. Leonardis is currently working towards a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, with a focus on Equitable Leadership, Policy, and Civic Engagement Studies. She is committed to changing the systems that impact our most underserved, historically oppressed, and vulnerable people.