Lauren King, Executive Director of the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition, has been named the 2024 Texas Christian University Department of Social Work Alumni of the Year for 2024. The award was presented at the TCU Social Work Month Student and Alumni Mixer on March 6.
Each year, TCU’s Department of Social Work honors an alumnus for exceptional professional achievements, initiatives or leadership in practice/clinical excellence, community engagement, advocacy, education or administration. The award presentation was made by Nada Elias-Lambert, Ph.D., LMSW, associate professor and Department of Social Work chair.
“I am humbled by this honor,” King said. “I hope this award inspires today’s students to pursue their aspirations and know they will make a difference as they work to improve lives and communities around the country.”
She added: “TCU Department of Social Work helped shape me into the professional and social worker I am today.” She believes her education at TCU provided a strong foundation to help her serve the community for the past two decades and the skills to lead a community solution to homelessness that will ensure the area’s future vitality.
King graduated from TCU in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work and earned a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Texas in Austin in 2004. That same year, she became community relations director of SafeHaven of Tarrant County, a shelter and resource for women facing the dangers of domestic violence. In 2006, she joined Catholic Charities of Fort Worth, first in fundraising and eventually served as director of programs. In that role, King implemented programs that aided low-income families, unsheltered homeless and other vulnerable individuals.
From 2009 to 2017, King served as an adjunct professor for TCU’s Department of Social Work. During that time, she helped develop and launch the department’s Master of Social Work (MSW) program. Her responsibilities included recruiting field agencies/instructors, establishing policies and procedures related to field education, and implementing new systems to manage field education.
King joined the Homeless Coalition in 2017 as director of development. She later became director of community relations and interim executive director, prior to taking the helm as permanent executive director in 2020.
Today, King leads an organization that is well positioned to continue addressing homelessness and the shortage of affordable housing by partnering with dozens of local organizations and government leaders to achieve its vision of a vibrant community where individuals and families have a place to call home and the resources to live their best lives. The Homeless Coalition also secures and manages millions of dollars in public and private funding to support homeless services, provides training for partner organizations, and works with landlords and property owners to help low-income families access affordable housing.
source: press release
