The eldest child of two Army Officer parents, Talia Penn was raised in a loving household marked both by a commitment to service and travel throughout the U.S. and Western Europe. Developing an early appreciation for various cultures, languages, and love of country, Talia volunteered to wear the uniform in her own right. Her distinguished record of service to the nation, community, and home epitomize her core values of faith, family, and hard work.
While serving her country in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), Talia graduated from the Ohio State University with a degree in Mass Communications and Social Issues. Receiving her Officer’s Commission upon graduation, Talia served at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington. When she deployed in support of the Global War on Terror as a 1st Lieutenant, Talia was hand-selected to lead the meticulous mortuary operations to receive and honor our nation’s fallen at Dover AFB. Respected and loved, she received the Air Force Achievement Medal before honorably discharging from the Air Force and later attaining the rank of Captain in 2012.
Starting her family with her husband while they served in an Army Company Command assignment, Talia also began earning her Masters Degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Hawaii.
Continuing her commitment to our nation, Talia leveraged her several years of military service and education when she went to work at the Fort Belvoir, VA Barton Education Center, leading a $1.5M contract serving the educational development plans and testing needs for our nation’s Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine students and their families.
Talia is a contributing member of the Kansas Republican Party, the Kansas Black Republican Council, the Sedgwick County Republican Party, and the Sedgwick County Black Republican Council. Talia is a 2021 Graduate of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Excellence in Public Service Series and continues to serve as the Treasurer for a winning political campaign in Kansas.
Unanimously elected by members' acclaim in 2022 to her current role as the Vice Chairman of the Kansas Black Republican Council, Talia leads with a servant's heart. Commissioner Penn answered the call to service once again in June of 2022 when she was by-name-requested to accept the Kansas Senate President's appointment to the Kansas African American Affairs Commission as a Commissioner from the KS-04 Congressional District.
A Christian Conservative, Talia is a trusted volunteer at Central Christian Church, and her 3 eldest children recently began another school year at the Classical School of Wichita.
Mrs. Penn is a dedicated wife to Patrick, and mother to Jaden, Josiah, Amariah, and Gabriella. Having fulfilled a life of military and public service early in her professional career, Commissioner Talia Penn pours herself daily into the development and upbringing of her children and brings the unique perspective of a full-time mother and military veteran to the fight. Her family is proud to call northeast Wichita home.