Lauren McCain Named Director of UF TREEO
The University of Florida’s Training, Research, and Education for Environmental Occupations (TREEO) Center is thrilled to announce that Lauren McCain has been named the new Director.
If anyone knows TREEO inside and out, it’s Lauren. Her path to Director spans nearly 18 years and touches almost every part of the organization. She joined TREEO in 2008 as a Program Assistant/Registrar, supporting student registration and course reporting. From there, she moved into Office Manager, where she oversaw administrative and financial operations, supervised front office staff, and coordinated conference logistics and vendor relationships, the kind of behind-the-scenes work that keeps an organization like TREEO running smoothly.
In 2015, Lauren stepped into Education/Training Specialist II as Asbestos Coordinator, managing the scheduling, development, and financial performance of specialized training programs while coordinating approvals with state and regulatory agencies. From there, her trajectory moved steadily upward: Operations Manager, Assistant Director of Operations, and most recently Associate Director of Operations: a role in which she directed operations across TREEO’s full program portfolio, oversaw the annual operating budget, and led cross-functional teams with more than 20 staff and student employees. Under her leadership, course reconciliation time improved by 25% through process improvements, all while managing financial planning and reporting for more than 400 training programs a year.
That kind of range is rare. Lauren doesn’t just understand TREEO’s programs from a leadership vantage point, she’s worked the front lines of registration, training delivery, and day-to-day operations. She knows TREEO’s history, its people, and its processes like the back of her hand, because she’s lived nearly all of them herself.
It’s that breadth of experience, and the respect she’s earned at every stop along the way, that makes this next chapter feel less like a new beginning and more like a natural continuation of a career already deeply rooted in TREEO’s mission.
“Lauren McCain brings a strong connection to TREEO’s mission, people, and longstanding impact across Florida and beyond. I’m excited for what comes next as she builds on that legacy and creates new opportunities for TREEO to grow, innovate, and serve.” – Nico Rose, Senior Director and Assistant Provost of Operations for the University of Florida Office of Teaching and Technology
As Director, Lauren will build on a legacy she helped write herself, guiding TREEO toward new opportunities for growth and innovation. Few people are better positioned to lead that next chapter than someone who has helped shape nearly every part of TREEO’s story so far.
Please join us in congratulating Lauren McCain on this well-deserved promotion!