Kartanbay is founder and owner of the first women’s ice hockey academy in Kazakhstan.

[4] In 2018, she moved to North America to tryout for the Calgary Inferno of the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL).

After facing issues getting her visa processed – which delayed receipt of her pay until halfway through the season – she played just ten games with the Riveters before being sidelined due to a concussion sustained in a car accident.

[5] In June 2020, Kartanbay was appointed one of the head coaches for the Princeton Tiger Lilies, an elite girls' minor and junior club in New Jersey.

[3] Kartanbay has a degree in tourism and hospitality from the International Information Technology University in Almaty.