Lara Caldie (she/her) is the Digital Communications Specialist at the Gephardt Institute. Lara joined the institute in January of 2022 and works in content creation, digital communications, graphic design, storytelling, and branding.
Her experience centers around marketing for social impact small businesses, where she has led social media strategy, designed websites, and coordinated educational programming and community events, while cultivating a large following of enthusiastic brand advocates. She has also held various roles at grassroots non-profits, such as EarthDance organic farm school and the zero-waste education and advocacy group, Pick Up America. Issues surrounding food justice, environmental conservation, and poverty criminalization fuel her pursuit of creative change-making.
AmeriCorps brought Lara to the St. Louis region nearly a decade ago and she has called it home ever since. Originally from Southern Indiana, community engagement within the city of Bloomington deeply informed her own college experience. Lara holds a bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications and Environmental Documentary from Indiana University, as a graduate of the Individualized Major Program. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, cooking, gardening, outdoor adventures, and doting upon her very spoiled house cats.