McKenna grew up near Phoenix, Arizona before moving to Nashville in 2015. She earned Bachelor’s degrees in international affairs and journalism from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, where she was a reporter for Georgia Public Broadcasting. In 2022, she became involved with NICE as a Development Intern, producing digital content for public relations initiatives. McKenna most recently worked as a Project Assistant for an international development NGO providing humanitarian aid to Black communities displaced from Ukraine. As the Employer Engagement Coordinator at NICE, she builds partnerships with local employers and helps prepare refugees and immigrants to enter the Nashville workforce.