Chanen is currently an architectural historian at JLK Architects in Chicago while finishing up a M.S. in Historic Preservation. Her background is in archeological conservation, art history, anthropology, and religious architecture. She graduated with a double major in Classical Archaeology and Religious Studies with a minor in Anthropology from Macalester college in St. Paul, MN and has two years of field experience, conducting in-situ stabilization of a Roman temple in Omrit, Israel under the auspices of the Israeli Antiquities Authority. Chanen has professional experience conducting 106 reviews, multiple building conditions assessments and reports, field survey work, historic research, HABS and HIBS reports. She is a contributing member of DOCOMOMO, Landmarks Illinois Skyline Council, the Great Lakes chapter of the Association for Preservation Technology, and teaches a class on architectural history and preservation to 7th and 8th graders at Mollison Elementary school in Chicago, IL.