Daren attended Brigham Young University on a Presidential Scholarship and graduated from the University Honors Program, cum laude in 1991. As a major in Political Science, Daren was nominated as a Truman Scholar Nominee, a Scholastic All-American, Member of the Golden Key Honors Society, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Pi Sigma Alpha Honor Society.

From 2001-2009, Daren served as the Mayor of Ivins City; home to the nationally recognized Red Mountain Spa, Tuacahn School for the Performing Arts, Kayenta and Coyote Gulch communities.

Daren began his legal practice in 1994 as an attorney in Southern Utah. In 1999, he became a founding partner of the law firm Barney & McKenna, P.C. He served as a Judge Pro Tem for the Washington County Small Claims Court from 2000-2004, and in 2005 was selected by Governor John Huntsman to serve as a member of the Judicial Nominating Commission for the Fifth Judicial District.