Lauren Pinkston
College of Business - Dean's Office
Assistant Professor
Biography
Dr. Lauren Pinkston is an Assistant Professor of Business as Mission. She came to Lipscomb University via Southeast Asia, where she lived from 2014-2019 combining community development philosophies with organic business models to bootstrap effective economic change for families needing safe work. While completing her doctoral dissertation with Clemson University, she discovered business to be a catalyst for community development, especially for survivors of exploitative labor.
Lauren most recently founded Kindred Exchange, a non-profit focused on sustainable short-term missions strategies. Her research focus pairs human trafficking crises with business model canvassing. She has partnered as a research lead with Freedom Business Alliance and also serves part-time in the College of Bible & Ministry as a liaison between Missions and the College of Business.
Lauren enjoys traveling with her family, cooking, and writing about the convergence of faith, culture and justice. She is actively involved with civic responsibilities in her town of Columbia, Tennessee, and is an advocate for ethical supply chains and employment practices.
Academic Degrees
Ph.D. - International Family and Community Studies; BS - Elementary Education
Academic Department
College of Business
- Entrepreneur's Introduction to Business
- Business Ethics
- Business and enterprise to mitigate international human trafficking and migrant smuggling
- Sustainable and ethical mission models
- Missional Business
- Strand, M., Chen, A., & Pinkston, L. (2016). Developing cross-cultural healthcare workers: content, process and mentoring. Christian Journal for Global Health, 3 (1), 57-72.
- Strand, M., Pinkston, L., Chen, A., & Richardson, J. (2015). Mental Health of Cross-Cultural Healthcare Missionaries. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 43 (4), 283-293.
- 2019-2020: Pinkston, L., Dissertation: Lived Experiences of Christian Development Workers In the Thailand Anti-Trafficking Movement: Lessons from the Field.
- Pinkston, L. (2020, June). The God of Mission and Business: How the world's unreached people groups are engaging the Gospel through organic relationships with strategically located Christian businesspeople. Christian Scholars Conference, Nashville, Tennessee.
- Pinkston, L. & Chen, P. (2021, October). The Future of Freedom Business: Emerging Data from a Freedom Business Code of Ethics. Christian Business Faculty Association Conference, Nashville, Tennessee.
- Freedom Business Research Consultant (2019-Current), Global (Helped design and secure funding for a 2-phase research project with Freedom Business Alliance analyzing the parameters of a Freedom Business Charter and sustainable business models.)
- Business Founder and Developer (2016-2020), Vientiane, Laos (Established four businesses to employ survivors of sex trafficking and human exploitation.)
- Independent Business Development Consultant (2016 - 2019), Vientiane, Laos (Consulted for social enterprises to develop models for sustainable impact.)
- Project Support Intern, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2015 - 2016), Vientiane, Laos (Supported the office on anti-trafficking support in a number of ways, such as translation, representation, and programming.)
2019-2020: Being a Difference Award, Student Center for the Public Trust. This award is given to those who embody the ideals and values of the Center for the Public Trust and are making a real impact on our campus and in the world.
Interviewed for expertise for the following journalistic investigation:
YouTube Interviews or Presentations:
Podcasts:
- My husband and I lead a house church in our home.
- I am involved in our community's Stand Together Fellowship which seeks to bridge racial divides and right the wrongs of racial divisions in our city.
- I am also a part of the 2021-22 Leadership Maury class.
- Finally, I am the Executive Director for Kindred Exchange, an NPO focused on developing sustainable and ethical missions models within the modern Church.
