Jen Lawrence leads the Foundation Relations team in the Office of the Vice President for Research at Indiana University (IU), serving as Senior Executive Director of Foundation Relations. Before joining IU, she served in a similar role at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and prior to that worked in Foundation Relations and Communications at Northwestern University.

Earlier in her career, Lawrence worked as a communication strategist, helping corporations and organizations refine and optimize their institutional identities. She holds a master's degree in speech communication and a bachelor's degree in mass communication, both from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She completed coursework at the University of Iowa toward a doctorate in communication studies with a focus in technology, leaving ABD. In 2013, Lawrence earned a master of fine arts degree in fiction writing from Northwestern University. She has taught courses in grant writing, rhetoric and composition, creative writing, and public speaking.