Lauren traces her roots in Hawai‘i back to 1859 and is the 6th generation to be born and raised in the islands. Her great-grandfather started Peterson’s Upland Farm in Wahiawa in 1910 as a family-run business supplying fresh eggs for our communities. Her grandfather began working at Waialua Sugar Company in 1966 and stayed there until he retired. Lauren’s grandmother Suzanne Peterson was the first woman to serve on the Board of Agriculture and later became the Director of Agriculture under Governor Waihe‘e and Governor Ariyoshi.

In 2013, Lauren married Firefighter Scott Matsumoto and they have been blessed with two beautiful children, Noah and Noelle. Being born in the district and now raising her family here, Lauren is dedicated to serving our community.

Lauren has had the honor and privilege to serve the community where she was born and raised, as were the generations of her family before her. She learned to jump rope at Mililani Recreation Center 3; she had her first soccer practice at Hokuahiahi Park; she attended elementary, middle, and high school in Mililani; she got her first job in high school as a lifeguard at Mililani pools; and it is where she now lives with her husband and is raising her children.

Lauren is a proud product of the Mililani Public School System. She attended Mililani Waena Elementary, was the very first sixth grade class at Mililani Middle School, and was a three sport athlete graduating from Mililani High School.

Lauren went on to graduate from the University of Hawai‘i with a Bachelor of Arts in film production with the Academy for Creative Media and minored in Business and Japanese. Her first experience with the legislature was when her documentary “Farm Grown” was utilized to help pass the feed subsidy bill which went a long way to helping local livestock farmers. Lauren was a four year Division I scholar-athlete at the University of Hawai‘i as a Wahine Water Polo player. She was also a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and initiated the C.A.R.E. (Collegiate Athletes Reaching Everyone) program, using student-athletes to encourage youth to excel in academics and participate in athletics.

Lauren won the title of Miss Hawai‘i 2011 and represented our state at the Miss America pageant. At Miss America she was recognized as a Quality of Life Finalist (award for community service), was awarded the CMNH (Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals) Award for raising the most money in the country for Hawai‘i’s Kapi‘olani Hospital, and won the talent portion of competition with a jump rope routine to the iconic song Hawai‘i 5-0. She has tirelessly served our community throughout her life and during her year as Miss Hawai‘i. Lauren is passionate about making a difference in our state. To this day, she continues to do school tours with her jump rope routines and speaks to children about the importance of living healthy active lives.

While in the legislature, Lauren continued her studies with two full ride scholarships. She attained her Masters in Business Administration from Hawai‘i Pacific University where she was the valedictorian and commencement speaker. Lauren went on to complete her Doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Argosy University with her dissertation. The 28 Percent: Women in State Elected Office and Leadership. 

Lauren is deeply involved in our district and serves her community in many different capacities: she is a Salvation Army Echelon Board Member, does read-alouds in our elementary schools, participates in community events like Trunk or Treat and Peter’s Prom, and she provides internship programs for high school and college students at the capitol. 

Lauren the Legislator…

Since she was first elected in 2012, Lauren has worked relentlessly to serve her constituents. Throughout her tenure in the legislature she has served on the following committees:

• Agriculture

• Consumer Protection & Commerce

• Economic Development

• Education

• Energy and Environmental Protection

• Health

• Higher Education

• Housing

• Labor

• Tourism

• Transportation

Lauren currently serves as the Minority Floor Leader in the State House. 

Beginning in 2013, Lauren was elected to be a State Director for the national, non-partisan organization, Women In Government. Throughout the years she has moved up in leadership roles within the organization. Most recently she served as the Vice-Chair and is now the chair-elect of the organization. 

In addition to her legislative work, since 2013 Lauren has served as a co-convener of the Hawai‘i State Women’s Legislative Caucus. In this role, she has worked to spearhead many legislative initiatives as well as run the caucus’s annual Easter Basket Drive to help women and children in need in our state.

As your representative, Lauren has learned that one of the most important aspects of her job is an open communication line with those in Mililani to intimately understand their needs. The top priority in her office is to be available, provide regular legislative updates, send out surveys to hear thoughts of the community, and to ensure that they are heard, respected and included in the legislative process.

In addition to all of her legislative work at the capitol, she has made it her priority to focus on work in her community. She has tirelessly served our community throughout her life from elementary school when she was an American Heart Association Ambassador doing jump rope performances at schools across the islands, to serving our state during her year as Miss Hawai‘i in 2011. Since becoming a legislator in 2012, her capitol office has focused on the community through activities and programs such as: a high school and college internship program, continuing to perform jump rope tours at schools, dressing up as the Cat in the Hat or Elsa from Disney’s Frozen, reading to children at schools and hosting an annual capitol talk and tour for members of the community to learn about the legislative process. She also created a children's activity book to educate keiki on Hawai‘i State Legislature and which she distributed to all the elementary schools in the district. Representative Lauren Cheape Matsumoto is passionate about making a difference in our state.