Lauren Malone, Ph.D.

Lauren Malone is an expert in military manpower issues, including recruiting, force quality, diversity, in-service benefits, retention, and transition out of service. Her research focuses on medical readiness, including the effects of COVID-19 on the Navy's enlisted training pipeline. She also studies deployability for global health engagement missions, suicide-related behaviors in the Naval Surface Force, and the mental health of Marine Corps recruiters.

At CNA, she has directed studies on the performance of waivered recruits, long-term and post-transition benefits from servicemembers' use of tuition assistance, and challenges in recruiting and retaining physicians to the Army Reserve. She serves as the recruiting chair for CNA’s Resources and Force Readiness Division and is part of CNA’s diversity and inclusion initiative.

Prior to joining CNA, Malone worked as a research assistant, teaching assistant and instructor at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Malone has a doctorate in international economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in global economics and a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American and Latino studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is fluent in Spanish.