Serena is from Los Angeles and is passionate about foster youth mental health and wellness. They dedicate their time at work as a Project Coordinator at Public Counsel. There she works for the Transition Aged Youth (TAY) team serving current and former foster youth aged 16-26 years old by screening them for eligibility for TAY legal services.

Believing that foster youth deserve the opportunity to create systematic change in child welfare policies that impact them, “nothing about us without us”, Serena channels their passion into action through NFYI, focusing on creating youth centered solutions to dismantling barriers to accessing mental health services and streamlining a smoother process to receive such services. She aims to create a catered mental health app for foster youth

Beyond their advocacy work, she is a devoted wife, mother of one and two dogs and delights in daily walks. Serena enjoys indulging in her creative abilities. She sings and works on vocal exercises, listens to music, draws, hikes, paints, visits nature, goes to concerts, and enjoys time with her family and friends. Through the Congressional Leadership Academy, she hopes to gain more knowledge on federal foster care policies and advocacy efforts and build her networking skills to apply them to creating more catered mental health services for foster youth.