Darlene Carpenter was elected to the REC board in 1984. Carpenter serves on several Committees of the Virginia, Maryland Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives and is REC's current director to the Board of Old Dominion Electric Cooperative. She is a past Region 1 director of the National Rural Utilities Corporate Finance Corporation. She has completed all director certification courses of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, which includes the basic, leadership and credential certificates.

Carpenter spent 37 years in banking, where she retired as vice president and area manager of the Wachovia Corp., and is a Realtor for Century 21 New Millennium in Culpeper. She is a member of Culpeper Business Women, Culpeper Toastmasters and serves on the board of the Culpeper Homeless Shelter. Carpenter was a past president of the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce.

Carpenter is a graduate of Germanna Community College, the Virginia Bankers School of Bank Management at the University of Virginia and the American Institute of Banking. She holds a certificate in nonprofit management from UVA. She is married to Edward D. Carpenter, and they have two daughters and three grandchildren. They reside on a small farm in the Reva area of Madison County and are members of Bethsaida United Methodist Church.