Jena Lowry Peterson is passionate about her life and strives for authenticity, wholeheartedness, and connection in all that she does. Jena has lived in Arizona, where she attended High School and college as a student athlete. She also lived in New Zealand where she served an LDS mission. She currently lives in Utah with her husband and three beautiful children.
Jena came out publicly as gay in December of 2014. Since then she has been a voice in creating a bridge between the LDS church and the LGBTQ community. She is the owner and life coach at Authentic Life Coaching, specializing in LGBTQ issues. Her work includes reducing shame, achieving wholeheartedness, mindfulness, grief, and navigating the intersection of religion and gender identity and/or sexual orientation. Jena speaks in LDS wards and conducts training for church leaders. She is also a presenter and speaker at LGBTQ conferences. Some of them have included: Keynote speaker at 2016 Affirmation International Conference, ALL conference Arizona 2016, Northstar Conference 2015, 2016, Affirmation International Conference 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, Affirmation Conference Los Angeles 2015, 2018, The Hearth 2017 San Francisco area, and most recently a speaker at Lift Houston. Jena has recorded numerous podcasts, and sits on the Advisory Board for Listen Learn and Love. She served at Encircle for two years as a facilitator for the lesbian support group.
Her educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services with a minor in Business Management. She will soon be starting her Master’s degree at Grand Canyon University in Psychology and Life Coaching. Jena currently works at Cedar Valley High School as the head Softball Coach, helps run the Positive Youth Development Program, and is an advisor for the Gay Straight Alliance Club.
In her spare time Jena is very active and loves to do anything outdoors. She is an avid water skier, wakeboarder, and snowboarder. Jena loves hiking and camping with her family and friends. She still loves to compete, and has recently found a love for triathlons.