Lauren Alexander Augustine

Lauren Alexander Augustine is the executive director for the Gulf Research Program. She is responsible for overseeing all aspects of management and use of the criminal settlement funds from the Deepwater Horizon disaster that were entrusted with the National Academies by the federal government. This includes fulfilling the vision, defining the strategic direction, and leading the development and implementation of this multidimensional, science-based program.

Since her tenure at the National Academies began in 2002, Augustine has gained experience working in various roles on a broad range of topics pertaining to water, natural disasters, and resilience. Before joining the Gulf Research Program in 2018, she served as director of the Resilient America Program, which supports communities’ efforts to build resilience to extreme events using science and diverse stakeholder engagement. In addition, she has formerly served as country director for the African Science Academy Development Initiative, a decade-long program that built scientific capacity in national academies across Africa; as director of the Disasters Roundtable; and as a study director for the Water Science and Technology Board.

Augustine earned her Bachelor of Science in applied mathematics and systems engineering, her Master of Science in environmental planning and policy from the University of Virginia, and her PhD in an interdisciplinary program that combined physical hydrology, geomorphology, and ecology from Harvard University.