Carlen was born and raised in Liberty, MO. She attended Truman State University where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Public Communication. Directly after college, she worked for the Kansas City Metropolitan Crime Commission’s prison reentry program. After this role, she transitioned to Harvesters, the local food bank. Her most recent job at Harvesters was implementing an intake software at various food pantries to better understand community needs through data. Through these roles, she has seen how much hunger can negatively impact individual well-being and is hoping to help alleviate food insecurity in the area.
Carlen joined the OSI staff as the Food Assistance Coordinator in June 2024. In her role, she oversees the Kangaroo Food Pantry operations at both the Volker and Health Science campuses.
In her free time, she enjoys traveling, browsing the library, perusing local international grocery stores, and hanging out with her black cat named Dewey. She also loves to collect postcards from around the world and cute trinkets from thrift stores.