As Chief Executive Officer of Dixon Schwabl (DS), Lauren oversees a full-service marketing communications firm with 125 employees and billings in excess of $78 million. She has full responsibility for agency performance, including bottom-line factors such as long-range strategic planning and company vision and culture. Lauren builds and provides day-to-day general and strategic oversight of a growing roster of more than 200 clients.
The agency culture and leadership have been recognized with national awards including being named one of the “Best Small Companies to Work for in America” for twelve consecutive years, including ranking #1 twice. In addition, Dixon Schwabl was ranked No. 1 Marketing Firm to Work for in America by the consulting firm Great Place to Work® and Fortune magazine in 2016. The agency also ranked No. 22 on Ad Age’s 2015 Best Places to Work in Advertising & Media list.
Inc. Magazine and Winning Workplaces honored Dixon Schwabl with the 2010 Top Small Company Workplace Award, and that same year PR News named Dixon Schwabl one of the Top Places to Work in PR—a national award the agency won again in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016. The agency is a three-time recipient of the Rochester Business Journal’s Wealth of Health Award, honoring the agency for its commitment to employee health and wellness.
In 2013, Lauren and her husband, Mike Schwabl, were inducted into the Rochester Business Hall of Fame. Dixon Schwabl was recognized with Alfred University’s Galanis Awards for Excellence in Family Business in 2009. In 2003, Lauren was named the Ernst & Young Communicator of the Year and received a Rochester Business Ethics Award that same year. In 2001, she was named Rochester’s Small Business Person of the Year.
Lauren currently serves on the following boards:
- United Way of Greater Rochester, 2015 campaign co-chair (with Mike Schwabl)
- United Way Women’s Leadership Council, 2012-present and serving as chair in 2015 and 2016
- Thompson Health Foundation Board, 2004-present
- Thompson Health Board, 2015-present
- Greater Rochester Enterprise Board, 2005-present
- CMAC Board, 2007-present
- Monroe Community College Foundation Board, 2009-present
- Rochester Business Alliance Board, 2009-present
- United Way of Greater Rochester Board, 2009-present
- Rochester Business Alliance Executive Committee, 2012-present
- Rochester Police Foundation Board, 2015-present
- University Rochester Medical Center Board, 2015-present
Lauren and Mike have four children - three of whom are actively involved in the agency.