Through her work in the United States Department of Homeland Security, Fortune 500 companies, and United States Congress, Lauren Claffey Tomlinson has become a trusted advisor for CEOs, Senators, Congressmen and high-level officials and executives for more nearly two decades.
Before founding Claffey Communications, Lauren worked at the United States Department of Homeland Security running strategic communications as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs. She served and worked directly with three department secretaries and the administration’s senior policy, national security, and legal teams, communicating on international and domestic policy issues to key national and foreign media. She led the internal and external communication strategies to address major homeland security issues, including the federal government’s response to Hurricane Harvey and Maria in 2017, active shooter situations, cybersecurity attacks and the ongoing effort to counter violent extremism with major tech companies. In addition to overseeing the DHS’s employee, stakeholder and digital communications, Lauren prepared the secretaries for international ministerials, congressional testimonies, media interviews, and speeches.
Prior to her time at DHS, Lauren held a variety of communications roles in the private and public sectors. She was the Communications Director and Spokeswoman for U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee and the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security. She led corporate communications for Southern Company, a Fortune 200 energy company, during a period of growth and several major mergers and acquisitions. And she spent time consulting at the public affairs firms Rational 360 and Hamilton Place Strategies, where she worked with government agencies, Fortune 500 companies, trade associations, foundations and nonprofits to create messages, coalitions and communications campaigns that furthered their business and policy objectives, including CFIUS transactions and M&A deals.
Lauren continues to work with and advise local, state, and congressional campaigns on policy, social media, and earned media strategy. Since 2015 she has appeared regularly on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg, Newsnation, CBS, and Hill TV as a strategist to provide timely political and communications commentary. She has authored policy op-eds for the millennial news site, Ozy, and is currently a visiting fellow at George Mason University’s National Security Institute and an adjunct professor for crisis and emergency communications at Georgetown University.
An Augusta, Georgia native, Lauren graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and Georgetown University with a master’s degree in corporate communications and public relations. She currently resides in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Brock, and their two children.