In addition to her current board service, Serena was a member of the Lewis & Clark Board of Alumni from 2005–11 and served on their diversity and inclusion committee.
Serena graduated from Lewis & Clark with a BA in political science, and then later earned a combined MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a JD at the University of California at Berkeley. Serena became a Multnomah County Commissioner in 1999, the youngest woman and first Latinx person ever elected to Multnomah County government. She served eight years on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, representing North and Northeast Portland, before cofounding and managing Albina Construction LLC, a construction and development company. For the last seven years, she’s led fundraising, public relations, marketing, and advocacy as the executive director of the Virginia Garcia Memorial Foundation.
In addition to our Lewis & Clark Board of Trustees, Serena serves on The Collins Foundation board. She finds this work deeply rewarding and enjoys serving on nonprofit and government boards. She has a teenage daughter and lives in Northeast Portland.