Meet Our CEO-Elect!
Lauren Pienkowski, Esq.
Lpienkowski@lasroc.org ~ 585.295.6056
Lauren currently serves as The Legal Aid Society of Rochester’s [LASROC] Director of Program Strategies and Retention and will assume the role LASROC Chief Executive Officer on January 1, 2027. In the 13 years that Lauren has been with LASROC, she has demonstrated extraordinary leadership and unfailing commitment to this community’s underserved population.
Lauren has dedicated her entire career to pursuing access to justice for our community's most vulnerable. Lauren graduated from the University of Buffalo Law School and was admitted to practice in 2012. Her commitment to social justice began in law school where she volunteered with the Women, Children and Social Justice Clinic; Buffalo Public Interest Law Group; Domestic Violence Task Force; and, the Social Justice Initiatives Committee. That strong interest in the need for social justice initiatives is what brought her The Legal Aid Society of Rochester where she has excelled.
Lauren started her career at LASROC in the Family Law Unit, where she represented victims of domestic violence. She continued in this unit, providing direct representation, legal counseling, and community education for four years. She then moved into the Housing and Consumer Law Unit, where she provided legal representation in eviction matters, eventually specializing in foreclosure matters.
While her passion to provide legal services to the poor is without question, what truly sets Lauren apart is her initiative and dedication to the way we provide services which has created numerous avenues for the betterment of LASROC and our team.
In 2020, Lauren took on added responsibilities and became the Intern and Mentor Co-Coordinator. In this role, Lauren not only recruited interns but also ensured that interns and new hires were matched with mentors to provide a smooth transition into our culture and ensure that both the new hires and interns had a meaningful experience as they started their careers with us. After years in this position, Lauren recognized the need for a more dedicated path for recruitment. Following the pandemic, it became more challenging to recruit, onboard, and retain qualified staff. In 2021, Lauren was elevated to the newly created position of Director of Legal Recruitment and Professional Development. In that pivotal role, she devoted herself to increasing recruitment and ensuring that staff receive the best possible training and opportunities for professional development to enhance retention.
Lauren continues to demonstrate her commitment to justice by ensuring we have dedicated staff who are properly trained. She also helped establish or improve the policies and procedures to provide services. Lauren did not just point out issues, problems, and concerns; she also provided solutions to resolve and address those issues.
In May 2023, she was appointed to the position of Director of Program Strategies and Retention and she is a member of the senior Management Team.