Lena Hicks obtained her Bachelor of Science in Education from Concord College in West Virginia in 1999. (The institution is now called Concord University.) She later earned her Masters of Education in Digital Learning and Teaching from North Carolina State University, then added Master of School Administration at University of North Carolina - Pembroke. Her teaching roles have spanned elementary, middle and high school for nearly three decades in both traditional public schools and charter schools. She has taught English and Language Arts, Social Studies, Yearbook, Newspaper, Creative Writing, Film as Literature, and Intro to Technology. For the 2025-2026 school year, she will be teaching 6-8 computer science. She lives in Salisbury with her husband, Michael, and her dog, Sugar.