Jennifer (Jen) Howells began her martial arts study in 2001 at 14 years old, studying aikido, kempo, and jujutsu. Through her study, she earned black belts in kempo and jujutsu and currently holds the rank of Sandan (3rd degree black belt) in aikido. She has been training at Aikido Shobukan Dojo since she moved to the Washington, DC area in 2012. She is a Civil Engineer and works for a local public utility helping to maintain their sewer system service to over 1.1 million residents.