Hi there, I’m Lauren.

Lauren Gil Hayes, LCSW, LISW (she/her) is a grief therapist, end-of-life doula, community educator, and social work PhD student based in Eastern Iowa.

Her work lives at the intersection of care, disconnection, and institutional response—examining how loneliness, estrangement, and fractured relationships shape the ways we experience caregiving, grief, and death, particularly for those who die alone or without traditional family support.

Lauren holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Central Florida and an MSW from the University of Chicago, where she was honored with the Sonia G. Berz Award for Outstanding Promise in the Field of Aging. She has worked across hospice care, HIV/AIDS services, LGBTQ+ health, dementia education, caregiver support, and youth arts mentorship, holding both direct service and leadership roles in systems of community-based care.

Currently a doctoral student in social work at the University of Iowa, Lauren uses mixed-methods research—qualitative interviews, large-scale data analysis, and ethnographic fieldwork—to study how care systems respond to those experiencing loneliness and/or isolation. Her work examines the social phenomenon of dying alone and its implications on individual experiences, societal narratives, and care infrastructure.

This work is deeply personal. Lauren has lived experience with loss, estrangement, and the particular grief of knowing someone she loved died alone. These experiences continue to shape the way she writes, researches, and builds community.

She currently serves as the Southeast Branch Board Member for NASW-Iowa through Summer 2025. In her free time, Lauren likes to ride her bike, bake sweet treats, and touch dirt.