Marlena grew up outside Akron, Ohio, and found her calling in Pittsburgh after winning a Best Teen Chef competition and enrolling at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for culinary arts. After graduation, she moved to Los Angeles to work as a catering and locations manager on chef Ludo Lefebvre's food truck, before a family illness brought her back east.

Years in the demanding restaurant industry led Marlena to a second career built on a lifelong love of numbers. She earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and finance from Clarion University, then became both a Certified Management Accountant and Certified Public Accountant. She went on to help manage the University of Pittsburgh's $3.2B budget as part of a four-person team in the CFO's office.

Marlena later founded MC Squared Consulting, helping small, local businesses—starting with a restaurant owned by her former Ludo Truck colleague—build stronger financial foundations. That work, combined with an MBA in Business Analytics from Pitt, led her to establish Bridge the GAAP, a nonprofit dedicated to helping local business owners understand their financials so they can grow, sustain their businesses, and keep their communities thriving.