Malena was part of the inaugural DBR Lab cohort in Fall 2018, invited by professor Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR) to develop a project and perform in New York. Early into the process, Malena offered to serve as the Artist Manager, facilitating media content development, promotional assets, venue relations and travel logistics for the group. In April 2019, the inaugural cohort presented an original 90-minute performance at National Sawdust in Brooklyn, New York, inclusive of 7 projects that spanned music, dance, theatre, spoken word and film.

Since completing her MFA in 2019, she has remained engaged with the DBR Lab, serving as the Managing Director in 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023. She supports the cross-disciplinary student artist collective with mentorship and professional development to guide them through self-promotion, production, venue relations, technical riders and professional documentation of their work. The class and collective focuses on supporting marginalized and underrepresented groups, including student contributors with diversity in race, religion, nationality, identity and gender.

DBR Lab has been documented by Lab alumni, Keegan Carlson since 2019. Malena developed the branding and design for DBR Lab and built DBR’s website. The collective operates in close collaboration with DBR Music Productions, SOZO Artists, and is in residence at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University.