Each month, we’ll be introducing you to one of our stellar team members so you can get to know the humans behind Action for Healthy Kids.

Meet Lauren Sandherr, Digital Marketing Manager.

1. Favorite place to visit in your city/town: Not much brings me more joy than riding my bike to Winnemac Park, a Chicago Public Park, on a sunny day and playing lawn games, reading, or walking through the native prairie habitat.
2. Go-to healthy dinner to make: I don’t do much of the cooking, but when I do, it’s usually vegan tacos of various themes with all the veggie toppings.
3. What staple is always in your fridge? I wouldn’t call it a “staple,” but it’s a sad day when I don’t have an array of olives. I could go hog wild on a container of castelvetranos.
4. Favorite activities to do with your family or partner: Traveling, riding bikes, playing board games, going to comedy shows, and seeing the bands we both like right up in front.
5. What do you do to wind down? For 13 years, I’ve gone to my “happy place,” a cageless cat shelter, to snuggle and socialize the cats, but that isn’t always relaxing. I also have a pretty hefty TV habit.
6. As a kid, what did you want to be when you grow up? According to a journal entry from 5th grade that I stumbled upon recently, I wanted to be a famous actress who is also an Olympic athlete after doing a stint in the Peace Corps. (#DreamBig) What I actually remember was wanting to be a veterinarian or a beautician.
7. Favorite way(s) to get physical activity: Dancing, dancing, and dancing. Also bike riding, barre, and bowling.
8. If you could learn any new skill overnight, what would you choose? Playing the drums or speaking fluent Spanish.
9. What motivates you in your decisions? Is this good for the earth, animals, and/or humanity? Also, is this practical and have I done a proper amount of research?
   
10. Describe one of the most rewarding moments you’ve experienced: Matching cats who have been at the shelter for ages, are special needs, or are shy and/or elderly with their new adoptive families has resulted in several. Also, being a rape crisis counselor who stays with survivors in the ER has created several bittersweet moments that remind me why I do what I do, such as bonding with the most inspiring 13-year-old boy I’ve ever met and his parents and being told “I love you” by a homeless survivor after she spent 15 hours in the ER.