Our staff is made up of an executive director, a board of directors, and a team of 15 volunteers in academic tutoring, peer mentoring, program assistance, grant writing, social media management, website development, and fundraising. Our executive director, Monique Graves, runs the after-school and summer programs. Visit Our Team to learn more.

Executive Director Monique Graves founded Lauren's House in 2009 to tutor the friends of her sixth grade daughter, Lauren, whom the organization was named after. A close friend of Lauren approached Graves and confessed that she did not have anyone to turn to for homework help. Then, more students came to seek academic assistance from Graves.
Since 2009 Lauren's House has expanded to serve 15 to 20 children during the school year and 20 to 30 during the summer. While programming was initially held at the East Palo Alto Seventh-Day Adventist Church, we now operate out of the Belle Haven Branch Library in East Menlo Park.

Please see our Programs page to learn more about what we can do for you and your child.

Our executive director, Monique Graves, was born and raised in East Palo Alto and raised her two children in her hometown. Graves has personally experienced or seen the difficulties that youth in East Palo Alto and East Menlo Park grapple with, such as lack of quality education, physical and emotional abuse, child hunger, and homelessness.
Graves also works as a school-based mental health therapist for Los Altos School District outside of running Lauren's House. This means that the socioemotional learning and counseling that our students receive come from a certified mental health professional. Our attention to socioemotional development is embedded within our daily programming.