Jenna Palensky

B.A., Nebraska Wesleyan University
M.A., University of Nebraska
MLIS, Simmons University

Jenna Palensky joined the Libraries in October 2025. She earned her MLIS from Simmons University in 2025 with an emphasis in archives management. She grew up in Nebraska and completed her undergraduate degree in music at Nebraska Wesleyan University and graduate degree in Music History at the University of Nebraska. She pursued a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology at University of Colorado, Boulder, and was employed as an assistant in the Howard B. Waltz Music Library where she handled circulation, digitization, and patron support, as well as an archive assistant at the American Music Research Center archive. While there, she landed on an opportunity to work for a music technology startup, Specdrums (previously owned by Sphero), and served for several years as their educational content manager, presenting to teachers, librarians, and STEM students. She then transitioned to another startup, Flywheel (now owned by WPEngine), and led training for the technical support team.