With a passion for news and the Bay Area, Lauren Toms brings hometown knowledge to her career covering politics, justice and breaking news.
Born and raised in Redwood City, she was thrilled to return to the Bay Area as a reporter after spending the first chapter of her career on the East Coast.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications at the George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs. She also served as captain of the dance team.
While in her final year of college, Toms joined NBC’s Today Show team out of Washington, DC and produced Willard Scott’s Smucker’s birthday segments, selecting special centenarians to feature.
One of the best pieces of advice in the news industry, Toms said, is to learn as many roles in the newsroom as possible to become the most productive and effective reporter possible.
With a hunger for learning from the best, Toms quickly joined CNN’s DC bureau amid the adrenaline of the race for the 2016 election. As an assignment editor, she coordinated reporters, gathered information for breaking news, and field produced for special events.
During this time, Toms pursued her master’s degree in U.S. Law at the Washington University in St. Louis. She set out to gain a deeper understanding of the U.S. legal system and apply this knowledge to her reporting. With each course, she connected the lessons to ongoing legal turmoil that captured headlines at the time.
When it was time to turn to reporting, Toms joined Axios as an editor and reporter focused on justice and military affairs. She reported on the Mueller Report and the launch of the Space Force with exclusive interviews with lawmakers while publishing smart, concise copy for the digital platform.
Her reporting in the national security space led to an opportunity as a print reporter for the Washington Times. While with the paper, Lauren closely covered the role of Congress in national security decision-making and defense spending. She reported on the 2019 Turkish incursion of Syrian Kurds and the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. In 2021, she partnered with Sky News as a commentator for the inauguration of President Joe Biden.
That same year she relocated to North Carolina; while her husband pursued an MBA at Duke University, she found her footing in local broadcast news. While living in Durham, she covered civil rights protests at UNC Chapel Hill, the departure of Duke’s Coach K, Covid response, politics in a divided state, and presidential visits.
But with a longing to return home, she found a warm welcome at KPIX – the station her family watched as she grew up.
Today, she takes all of the knowledge and experience she’s gained in and out of the newsroom, in front and behind the camera to bring informative, compelling stories to her hometown audience.
When she’s not covering trials, elections or new legislation, Toms loves to take her rescue pup Lupo to one of San Francisco’s many dog-friendly beaches. With her husband Parker, a San Carlos native and Serra High School graduate, they enjoy watching football games and catching up with old friends and family. Best of all, she says, is exploring San Francisco and the greater Bay Area in this new chapter.
