Karena Lorek is the Area Director for the Kansas City Area Office her office covers the western 2/3 of Missouri. Since 2019, Ms. Lorek has been a founding member of the Construction Suicide Prevention Stand Down Taskforce. Prior to becoming an Area Director, she was the Assistant Regional Administrator for Region VII OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program. Karena has also served as the Acting Deputy Director of the Directorate of Enforcement Programs in Washington DC. Karena has worked for OSHA for over 17 years; Karena started her OSHA career in Cleveland, Ohio.
Prior to her career with OSHA, Karena was in Federal Law Enforcement with US Secret Service and US Federal Air Marshall Service. She also was an investigator for Ohio Bureau of Worker’s Compensation conducting safety and health inspections.