Lorenda was originally hired by the NTSB in 1998 to work in engineering as a structures group chairman where she worked major water recovery accidents, mid-airs, and in-flight break-ups. In 2001, she became an investigator-in-charge (IIC). She investigated airplanes, helicopters, and commercial space vehicle accidents and was a hearing officer multiple times. She was the IIC for numerous major aircraft accident investigations, including Colgan Air flight 3407 that crashed during approach to Buffalo, New York and the 2014 commercial space investigation of SpaceShipTwo. In 2022, she was promoted to be the Chief of Air Carrier and Space Investigations.

She has traveled to Bahrain, China, Germany, Canada, England, Finland, Estonia, India, Ireland, Malaysia, France, Libya, Colombia, Argentina, Sweden, Mexico, Italy, Pakistan, Egypt, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Turkey, Australia, Austria, and Lithuania to support the NTSB’s mission. Before coming to the NTSB, Lorenda was a civilian aerospace engineer for the Navy working on the EA-6B and F-14 programs. She received both her Bachelor and Master of Aerospace Engineering from Auburn University. She earned her private pilot’s license over 30 years ago and has attended the Civilian Flight Test School in Mojave, California and International Space University Space Studies program in Montreal, Canada. She went to Kenya and Tanzania with her son to go on safari and to volunteer at a children’s home. She and her family rented an RV and drove around Alaska for three weeks in the summer of 2019.