Lauren Kuby was elected to the Tempe’s City Council on a sustainability platform in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. She is a 34-year resident of Tempe and long-time community leader who advocates for worker protections, equity, and climate-change action.
As manager of community outreach for Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, as well as her work managing ASU’s Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family, Lauren champions sustainable solutions and healthy communities, bringing together the ASU community, local businesses, nonprofits, and neighborhood organizations to address the “Three Es:” economy, equity, and the environment.
As a Tempe councilmember, she has led Tempe’s efforts for social, economic and environmental justice, including: equal pay, earned sick days, affordable housing, climate action planning, urban forestry, animal welfare, government transparency, and campaign-finance reform. She spearheaded a dark money disclosure amendment to the City’s charter, garnering 91.44% support from the voters. For her efforts exposing the corruptive influence of money in politics, Lauren was featured in the inaugural episode of MSNBC’s docuseries, American Swamp.
Lauren earned a bachelor’s degree in Early American History from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in Public History and Certificate in Scholarly Editing from ASU. She resides in central Tempe with her husband, Mike, a professor at ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. Mike and Lauren have raised two daughters, Nora and Olivia, in Tempe.