Lauren Rush is the new program director for education at the Lilly Endowment.
Rush joins the endowment after about six-and-a-half years at The Mind Trust, an Indianapolis-based education nonprofit. She was first brought on there in the summer of 2015 to be director of development and special projects, a position in which she worked for less than two years before being promoted to senior vice president of strategic alignment and operations. Then, seven months ago she was promoted again to be senior vice president of administration and operations.
Rush, born and raised in Indiana, attended Purdue University and earned a bachelor’s degree in youth, adult and family services before beginning her career in education. She would get her start in the profession like many others, through Teach for America.
After being a corps member at Teach for America for about two years, Rush got a job as a middle school math teacher in the Lee County School District in Arkansas. A few years later she moved on to KIPP Public Charter Schools, becoming a middle school math teacher in Helena, Arkansas.
It was after this stint as a teacher that Rush then moved into administrative and executive positions. She went back to Teach for America in June 2008, hired as managing director of teacher leadership development. She would serve in this position for more than five years before moving on to become chief operations officer at Community Charter Network.
“We are so pleased to have Lauren join our team,” said Ted Maple, the Endowment’s vice president for education in a news release about the appointment. “Her commitment to our community and improving educational outcomes for children is extraordinary. She brings broad, deep and diverse experience in education to the Endowment that will significantly enhance our ability to help educational organizations serve their students better.”
Lauren Rush plans to begin work as program director for education at the Lilly Endowment in February 2022.
