Jena Kitchen has over eight years of experience guiding social impact organizations with trauma-responsive strategy and program design, effectively creating functional organizational systems while fostering a culture of wellbeing and support among staff. She is drawn to the intersections of neuroscience, trauma healing, faith, peacebuilding, and transitional justice and is a person with disabilities.

In 2023-2024, she supported the Iowa City Truth & Reconciliation Commission in their efforts to organize trauma-informed truth telling events with the public.

Between 2021-2024, she helped launch the strategy and organizational structures for an emerging peacebuilding organization, including co-designing and implementing a community-based reconciliation program with local trauma healing leaders in the Horn of Africa.

She has previously coordinated a Participatory Action Research project with reconciliation practitioners and co-designed a trauma-sensitive leadership project for leaders in Burma. She has worked both in higher education as well as local government to support and sustain leaders (underrepresented faculty, public health workers) in their work.

Jena has a master’s degree in conflict analysis and resolution focused on trauma-responsive leadership from George Mason University, an executive leadership certificate from Cornell University, and bachelor’s degrees in sociocultural anthropology and Latin American studies from the College of William & Mary. She has completed Strategies for Trauma Awareness & Resilience (STAR) Level 1 through the Center for Justice & Peacebuilding.

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