Lauren Wiley

Lauren Wiley, longtime journalist, fundraiser, volunteer and parent activist, died unexpectedly Friday morning Feb. 28 at her home in Mount Airy. She was 50. 

 At the time of her death, she was the Director of Local Development and Revenue for Open Campus, a nonprofit news organization with bureaus in 17 cities that covers higher education with an emphasis on how colleges impact their local communities.

 “She was a fierce supporter of journalism and a true believer in its ability to make communities better and to hold power to account,” said Maria Archangelo, the Chief Revenue Officer of Open Campus. “As she moved from being a journalist to raising money for journalism, Lauren used her talent and commitment to the work to help convince others to support local news in Philadelphia and across the country.”

 Before joining Open Campus in November, 2021, she had been a fundraiser and then director for the Philadelphia Public School Notebook, an independent publication that covered city schools. She started there in 2014, and oversaw The Notebook’s transition to Chalkbeat Philadelphia in 2020.

 Despite her demanding professional life, Ms. Wiley was also a tireless volunteer. The mother of two sons, Ben and Elliot, she was always heavily involved in their schools’ parent groups. Ms. Wiley was an active member of the Houston Elementary School’s Home and School Association from the time Elliot, now a fifth grader, started kindergarten. She served on the HSA board since 2022, and was co-president for two years.

. “She had a hand in everything the HSA did,” said parent and Houston Home and School Association board member Emily Pugliese. “She never missed a meeting.” Ms. Wiley started the annual Spring Fling fundraiser, worked on classroom setup and breakdown, wrote and edited newsletters, solicited local businesses for donations, and helped update the school library. She also informed teachers about grant opportunities and wrote applications for them.

 “If the school needed something or a parent needed support, she always figured out a way to help,” Pugliese said. “She did it all without needing accolades or praise. She did it because she loved her community and her city.” 

 When Ben, now a sophomore at Penn State, attended J.S. Jenks in Chestnut Hill, she was treasurer and put together fundraisers for the home and school association there.

 Ms. Wiley, blessed with a thick mane of curly red hair, was also a skilled advocate on citywide issues. She crusaded for an end to “leveling,” or the disruptive practice of transferring teachers around in October if enrollment projections were off, and mounted a campaign for Houston to offer algebra in 8th grade.

 At the same time she was also fiercely loyal to the Philadelphia school district, displaying a “public and proud” sign outside her home in a neighborhood where many middle class parents choose private schools.

 She also served for several years on the board of the civic organization West Mount Airy Neighbors.

 “Lauren was a force of nature,” said her close friend Tracy Vogel. “Everyone could count on her, from big organizations down to individual friends. She always, always had your back, no matter what.” 

 She was a dedicated cook and gardener and devoted to her dogs, who were always at her feet, Vogel said. “She loved coffee to an alarming degree and could put together an incredible outfit on a thrift store budget. She was a voracious consumer of news, she knocked on doors for political campaigns. She was fierce and smart and devoted.” 

 Jason Ernst, who she married in 2013, said that he “fell in love with her, easily and completely, with one conversation.” He asked Ben and Elliot for one word to describe their mother. Elliot chose “amazing.” Ben said “caring.” 

 She moved to Philadelphia in 2012 after meeting Ernst to be with him.

 Lauren Wiley was born on April 27, 1974 in Rahway, N.J., and spent her childhood years moving between New Jersey and Massachusetts. 

 Her parents described her as bright and independent from a very early age. When she was just two years old, her mother Jan Wiley said, she kept a small suitcase beneath her bed and when she felt she needed to get away, she would pack it and call her grandparents to pick her up (while telling her parents they had called about coming to get her), then wait patiently for them to arrive. 

 When she was in fourth grade, she started a thriving insurance company at her school, taking kids' money in exchange for "insurance" for toys stolen by bullies or broken by younger siblings. 

 The principal put a stop to that. “She was a spitfire,” her mother said.

 Ms. Wiley was in the top 10 students in her class from Milford Area Senior High School and went on to Syracuse University, from which she graduated in 1996 with honors and a dual degree in journalism and political science. She had been awarded several scholarships, including one from political journalist Mary McGrory, who she later was thrilled to have lunch with while working on Capitol Hill as part of a university summer program. 

 At Syracuse she was an editor at the independent student-run newspaper, the Daily Orange.

 Her first job out of college was as a reporter at the Patriot Ledger in Quincy, MA. In that position she frequently covered schools, which sparked her lifelong passion for holding accountable the nation’s educational system. 

 She subsequently worked for the Waterbury (CT) Republican-American, the publication AdWeek, and then for several nonprofit groups including the American Diabetes Association, where she ran all their fundraising walks in southern New Jersey, and for the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, which develops and monitors best practices in medical laboratory tests. 

 In 2016, she earned a masters’ in public administration from Villanova University.

 In addition to Ernst, Ms. Wiley is survived by her parents, Michael and Jan Wiley, sons Benjamin Partyka and Elliot Wiley Ernst, brother David Wiley, cousin Jacqueline Flanagan and her husband Tim, and other relatives.

 “She always had great stories to tell about the boys, and it was clear to all who knew her how much she loved being their mom,” said Archangelo. “As committed as she was to her work, there was nothing more important to Lauren than her family.” 

 A viewing is scheduled for Saturday March 8th, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM with Words of Remembrance at the Jacob F. Ruth Funeral Home, 8413 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia. Donations in her memory can be made to Henry H. Houston Home and School Association, 7300 Rural Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119, or to Open Campus Media, Inc. 1 Thomas Circle, NW, Washington, DC 20005.