35-Year-Old Lauren Copeland Mitchell Has Become One Of America’s Youngest Black Women To Own A McDonald’s Franchise

According to Shine My Crown, Lauren Copeland Mitchell went from corporate executive to running her own franchise of the fast-food chain at the age of 35.

Mitchell’s restaurant, located in Cincinnati, OH, is also considered one of the region’s top-performing locations, reports the outlet.

​​A graduate of Washington D.C.’s Howard University, she now joins a host of Black women who are smashing glass ceilings as franchisees of McDonald’s. Per a report from BlackBusiness.com, she is one of 250 Black leaders who own a franchise of the restaurant in the country. Roughly 50 of that number are women.

In 2009, Mitchell graduated from Howard with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, and her career trajectory is quite impressive as she gained intern opportunities at industry giants Procter & Gamble and J.P. Morgan, and then set off into the broader corporate world.

According to Shine My Crown, she spent 13 years at ExxonMobil, where she held both junior- and senior-level positions before stepping into entrepreneurship with the McDonald’s franchise in November 2022.

As previously reported by AFROTECH, women like Mitchell belong to an elite group of franchise owners making historic moves.

Nicole Enearu is another mover and shaker in the industry as the owner of approximately 13 McDonald’s franchises alongside her family.

Another notable McDonald’s franchisee and a product of an HBCU is Tanya Hill-Holiday, who made history when she became the first Black woman owner of the chain in Philadelphia, PA.

Much like Mitchell, Hill-Holiday also held various managerial and leadership positions in corporate before deciding to own and operate a business.

With a proven track record of leading and growing her McDonald’s restaurant, there is no telling what lies ahead for Mitchell as she continues her journey in the fast-food industry ownership space.