Lauren Schramm

As a Senior Transportation Planner at ESA, Lauren serves as an advisor to the firm’s clients on modernizing environmental review and decision-making processes. Her work supports clients as they navigate evolving federal requirements while advancing infrastructure and public-sector priorities efficiently and transparently.

Lauren is recognized for her leadership at the intersection of environmental policy and technology-enabled process improvement. She led a team that created an AI chatbot that won the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Modernizing NEPA Challenge, a national initiative focused on identifying innovative approaches to improve the efficiency, transparency, and effectiveness of the National Environmental Policy Act process. Building on this work, Lauren leads the National Association of Environmental Professionals Working Group on Technology. Lauren works closely with several federal and state agencies in this space and has been published alongside the National Labs.

Lauren holds a Master of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Resources from Clemson University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Environmental Studies from Alfred University. She has been recognized with a 2025 Emerging Environmental Professional Achievement Award from the Academy of Board Certified Environmental Professionals, and  named as one of the 35 Women Under 35 To Know by the American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia.