Coordinator of Public Engagement
The Ohio State University
Columbus
OH
Biographical Sketch: Lena Tenney (they/them/theirs) is Coordinator of Public Engagement for the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University. They direct the facilitation portfolio of the Race and Cognition Program, which includes traveling around the nation to facilitate workshops and presentations about implicit bias, structural racism, and being an active bystander. They have been featured on Higher Ed Live and Vermont Public Radio and contributed to the "Open Your Mind: Understanding Implicit Bias Learning Lab Exhibit" at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Lena is a co-author of the 2017 edition of the Kirwan Institute’s "State of the Science: Implicit Bias Review" publication.
A trained intergroup dialogue facilitator, Lena has a background in inclusive education and coalitional activism work. They are a founding member of two grassroots community activist groups that have sought to ensure legal protections for and institutional inclusion of LGBTQ individuals at the municipal and campus levels. Lena currently serves on the LGBTQ Student Success Task Force for The Ohio State University and as a member of the Board of Directors for TransOhio—a statewide non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for transgender individuals and communities.
Lena graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a Masters of Education and a Masters of Public Administration. They also hold a Bachelors of Arts in Religious Studies and History from the University of Oklahoma.