From New York City, Saren obtained a B.A. in Psychology from Hunter College, completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Arizona, and is now a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Saren's childhood home in Ithaca, N.Y. and previous residence in Pittsburgh were frequently visited by raccoons; perhaps relatedly, she believes she has a talent for furnishing apartments by scavenging things that others have discarded.