In July 2024, Lauren Thomas joined the Board of Directors of Project Sleep, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of sleep health, sleep equity, and sleep disorders.
Lauren Thomas is a patient advocate living with type 1 narcolepsy with cataplexy. After 14 years of misdiagnosis, Lauren received her diagnosis of narcolepsy at the age of 29. She is passionate about sharing her diagnosis story with the hope that it can make others feel seen.
Lauren’s involvement with Project Sleep began in 2020. In four years, she has served on the World Narcolepsy Day Committee and been featured in the Narcolepsy Nerd Alert Series and the Sleep Disorders Conversation for Journalists. In addition, Lauren traveled to Washington DC in Fall 2023 to share her story at Project Sleep’s White House Sleep Equity Convening.
Currently, Lauren lives in Westchester, NY. She enjoys volunteering in her community, attending concerts, and is a huge basketball fan. In 2020, Lauren was able to celebrate World Narcolepsy Day by facilitating a segment on NBA on TNT’s The Arena in advance of the NBA conference finals. In 2021, her story was featured on NPR’s Embodied in a segment “Sleep Deprivation Is No Joke. Narcolepsy Shouldn’t Be Either.”
Lauren is honored to serve on Project Sleep’s Board of Directors and is excited to bring her advocacy and storytelling expertise to the table.
Please join us in welcoming Lauren to our leadership team! Learn more about our Board of Directors and connect with Lauren on Instagram.
1 Comment. Leave new
Hello Lauren,
I just caught the article about you on Black Westchester. I had to smile at your story about the train conductor. I used to travel overseas alot for work and on more than 1 occasion I was woken up at the end of the line of some train route by some overly sweet lady trying to explain to me in a foreign language that we had stopped. It is always nice to know there are others out there that understand. Also, your parents are the absolute best! Trying their hardest to understand you and your journey, helping when you need it and supporting you as you advocate for us all. Keep up the great work 🙂