While Dr. Ogren has extensive academic experience and has taught business courses from undergrad through MBA programs since 2009, her unique ability is in bringing complex issues to simple practices that work in the daily grind. She believes that while strategy may be developed in the boardroom, it comes to life in the hallways at work. This practical and application-focused approach draws people of all walks of life to realize they have potential and ability, regardless of their background or history.

In this practical approach, Dr. Ogren founded the Entrepreneurial Lab at Cottey College, beginning in 2018 mentoring and leading students to wholly manage the Chellie Club (on campus diner) and currently the Spirit Shop (campus gift shop).  She has sponsored Cottey’s stock trading lab, ENACTUS, and DECA. Dr. Ogren is currently developing the Clark Institute for Women in Business at Cottey, to build stronger and sustainable experiential opportunities for students at Cottey.

In 2023, she published Discovering Your Purpose, sharing her journey and her customized process to help people identify their unique skills and apply them to their professional lives to live and work with meaning and intention.  She founded, grew, and sold Spicy Guys®, a snack food wholesale company, and is a founding partner in Expand with Purpose, a firm focusing on developing leaders and business owners to reach their potential as individuals and as organizational units.

Dr. Ogren spent 30 years building ENCOURA (formerly NRCCUA) in the forefront of connecting colleges and students, helping millions of students in her marketing and operations work. Her life has been focused on expanding opportunities and enhancing connections between individuals and the opportunities that exist beyond their awareness.