Getting to Know the Heart of Lauren Pierce

Funny, driven and family focused, Lauren Pierce and her crew landed in Glencoe a little over 4 months ago, ready to put down roots and build community.

By: Annice Moses, Community Relations Forum Member

Lauren likes cookies - any kind, she said. When we met up to chat about her very recent move to Glencoe, I presented her with hot green tea and a box of Foodstuffs buttercream sandwich cookies.Although the tea was organic and came with a self-validating fortune, those little sandwiches of sunshine stole the show. As did Lauren, she’s a hoot.

Born in New Jersey, Lauren doesn’t have a New Jersey accent because at age 2 she moved to Saint Charles, IL when her dad took a job with Brach’s Candy Corporation. She then avoided a midwestern accent when her family moved 3 years later to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where her dad took a job with Heinz Corporation. Pittsburg is where she and her younger brother Andrew -- a now Chicago based burgeoning documentarian – ultimately grew up. Lauren found her way back to the Midwest for college, double majoring in English Literature and Psychology at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. She joined Greek life and the Powderpuff football team. Was she any good? “No. Awful. So bad. Real bad.” Lauren admitted to ulterior motives: the fraternity boys coached the team. She quips, “I guess it was before women could coach themselves.” Despite her lack of natural Powder Puff football moves, Lauren caught the eye of her coach, Jack. She was a sophomore; he was a senior. After Lauren and Jack started dating, she promptly quit the Powderpuff team, but kindly continued to bring snacks.

During her junior year, Lauren studied abroad in England, while Jack graduated and moved back to his hometown of Winnetka. When Lauren returned to the states, she visited Jack and really liked the North Shore area. After graduating, Lauren moved to Lincoln Park. In Pittsburg, Lauren had to drive everywhere to get anywhere, and Lincoln Park’s accessibility was a whole new world. She loved having the lakefront, art festivals and farmers markets all within walking distance. Her love for her new neighborhood helped her tolerate the commute where she worked for 6 years for a food broker. Are you unfamiliar with food brokeraging? Lauren explains: She worked with grocery store companies and their supply brands – i.e.; Starbucks products at Jewel/Osco – and navigated promotions, price reductions, new items, discontinued items and “brokered” (there we go!) decisions around sales. Lauren used her psychology background to navigate the consumer-packaged goods world of figuring out what people bought and why. Lauren then landed her current job with NielsenIQ, where she uses their analytic data to determine consumer choices.

After 8 years of dating, Lauren and Jack married in 2017. When they began contemplating a family, they knew they wanted more space. When Lauren became pregnant, a 2-year suburban migration plan was put into effect. The pandemic expedited that when Christopher “Kit” was born in 2019 and the 3 of them were living on the 19^th floor of a 2-bedroom high-rise. They cast a wide and much earlier than expected net to the suburbs, viewing homes in Northfield and Lake Forest. Nothing hit the mark through Lauren’s intuitive lens or Jack’s practical one. Then, they heard about an older house in Glencoe and Lauren’s affinity for classic homes pushed them to take a peek. Lauren fell in love with the house’s original doors, doorknobs and overall charm. Jack appreciated the ability they’d have to walk to town and the Metra. What ultimately sealed the deal for them was a crawling Kit, laughing hysterically at the echoing sounds bouncing off the walls of the empty house. It wasn’t empty for long. They made an offer that night -- including sending a video of a giggling Kit to the relator and 12 hours later, it was accepted.

Lauren and her family love living in Glencoe. They love their neighbors, the walkability and the abundance of parks -- a favorite is Kalk Park. Lauren’s enthusiasm for Glencoe was obvious when as a newcomer, she jumped right into the fold of reigniting the neighborhood block party. She explained where she grew up, there weren’t villages and towns, so block parties were only things you saw in the movies. As for her son Kit, his primary appreciation of Glencoe currently revolves around vehicles -- specifically waving at the school buses, waving at the garbage and recycling folks, (where the guys sometimes kindly do a little extra truck maneuvering because they know he’s watching) and chasing after the Amazon delivery vans. And as for her husband Jack, he has eased happily back into an adult version of his childhood suburban life.

Who perchance – other than a former hunky Powder Puff coach named Jack -- is Lauren’s celebrity crush? Ryan Reynolds. His wit and sarcasm make her laugh. Plus, he’s attractive. 

Would Lauren survive a zombie apocalypse? Idealistically: “YES! I will survive! I watch a lot of zombie shows!” But then…  “Realistically? I’d be in the first wave of casualties. I’m not crafty or enough of a survivalist. I’d love to say yes, but I really don’t think so. I’m directionally challenged. If someone said, ‘Go north to safety!’ I’d be like, ‘Is that by a McDonalds?’”

A very warm welcome to the Pierce family. It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.