A Life of Leadership: Lauren Moran's Commitment to Students and Belonging

Six-year-old Lainey gripped a pencil in her hand and pondered an assignment from her teacher: Who would make a good president of the United States?

Unsurprisingly, kindergarteners’ presidential polling data looks different than Gallup’s, with teachers, best friends, pets and superheroes often topping the list.

Lainey, however, tossed a different hat into the ring. She chose her aunt, Lauren Moran, associate dean for Student Affairs and director of First-Year Orientation and Family Engagement at Carnegie Mellon, who also serves as the national president of Sigma Sigma Sigma (Tri Sigma) sorority.

“That was really cool,” Moran said. “Lainey equates what I do with leadership, so I hope that’s what I’m instilling in her.”

Governing a national nonprofit and guiding thousands of first-year CMU students might seem like different roles, but for Moran they reflect the same core commitment. A focus on leadership and belonging has shaped her 20‑plus‑year career in higher education and ultimately brought her to Carnegie Mellon.

A Pittsburgh native, Moran attended Edinboro University intending to major in elementary and physical education. Her academic trajectory changed after she dove into leadership roles with student government, student orientation and Tri Sigma. 

“My college classes were fine, but found that I learned the most through those leadership experiences,” Moran said.

During her senior year, a mentor in the university’s administration noticed Moran’s campus-wide involvement and suggested she consider a career in student affairs. “It was like a light bulb went on for me,” Moran said.

She changed her major to communication, stayed an extra year to finish her degree and never looked back. Moran went on to earn a master’s degree in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University and a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pittsburgh.

Before graduate school, Moran spent a formative gap year visiting 36 college campuses as a leadership consultant for Tri Sigma. Traveling solo and living out of a suitcase offered valuable life lessons.

“It taught me how to pack pretty well,” Moran said with a laugh. “I learned how to be independent and how to engage with people I’d never met before. It was one of those pivotal moments that shapes the direction of your life.”

That year also reframed her notion of sorority membership. Beyond social events, she saw how women use those organizations as training grounds for leadership, service and lifelong connection — themes that echo through Moran’s work at CMU.

She began her career as a fraternity and sorority adviser at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. She later worked in university advancement at Duquesne University and in student engagement at Slippery Rock University.

Moran joined Carnegie Mellon in June 2023. Her role is highly strategic, focused on vision, leadership and long-term planning. Over the years, she has witnessed a distinct evolution in student needs.

“When I first came into student affairs, it was mostly about the co-curricular experience,” she said. “As the world changed, the job changed. Mental health support, family engagement and coordinated care teams are now central to student affairs work.”

Leading CMU’s high-energy, nine-day orientation program, Moran is supported by nine head orientation counselors and about 150 other student volunteers. They help incoming students transition academically, socially and personally into one of the world’s most rigorous academic environments.

Because family members are often a student’s strongest support group, Moran’s office provides broad assistance, including first-year family orientation, a family webinar series and Family Weekend each October. 

“When families understand the university, the resources available to students and the developmental transitions students may experience, they are better positioned to support their students' success,” said Gina Casalegno, dean of students and vice president for Student Affairs.

Moran also leads fraternity and sorority life at the university, emphasizing values-based leadership, risk management and belonging.

“Done right, fraternity and sorority membership can be one of the most impactful experiences a person can have,” Moran said. “Retention is higher. Students’ sense of belonging is higher. Our groups do a lot of amazing things, and we need to do a good job telling that story.”

Although CMU does not host a Tri Sigma chapter, the sorority has shaped Moran’s path since her undergraduate years. She has served as its director of alumnae and volunteer services, a collegiate chapter adviser and a member of the leadership programming team and extension team.

“I want to give back because Tri Sigma has given me so much over the years,” Moran said. “I believe in our mission and what we do to empower women and build leaders."

In 2025, Moran was elected Tri Sigma’s national president, a volunteer role that takes up about 20 hours a week. She helps set the sorority’s national strategy, oversees its financial health and stays connected with thousands of members across 103 collegiate chapters and 81 alumnae chapters.

“Lauren's role as national president of Tri Sigma and her leadership at CMU complement each other extremely well,” Casalegno said. “Her national service keeps her connected to emerging issues and practices within fraternity and sorority life. At the same time, her experiences at CMU allow her to contribute an institutional perspective to those national conversations.”

The emotional demands of her two leadership roles can be substantial, particularly her work navigating risk and supporting students or chapters in crisis.

“Those can be long, tough days,” she said. “But when alumni come back and say that being in orientation or being in a sorority or fraternity changed their lives, those moments outweigh the hard days.”