Public Speaking & Media

For twenty years I have been working at the intersection of humanitarian response, organizational systems, and global partnerships. These are some of the conversations that work has generated.

  • Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza: Emergency Shelter Response KEYT News, May 2024
Featured as the authoritative voice on ShelterBox USA's emergency shelter response to displacement in Gaza, speaking to the scale of the crisis, operational partnerships on the ground, and the humanitarian imperative of reaching families without adequate shelter.
Watch the segment

  • Climate, Disaster, and the Systems We Build Funding the Future NOW Podcast, ChicoBag — Coming Soon
A conversation about climate change as a driver of humanitarian disaster, its disproportionate impact on the world's poorest communities, and the uncomfortable question of how the disaster relief sector itself contributes to the problem.
Link coming August 5

  • ShelterBox Global Impact: Presentation to the Rotary Club of Washington DC August 2023
Presented to one of the country's most prominent Rotary chapters on ShelterBox's global humanitarian impact, the role of institutional partnerships in scaling disaster response, and the operational systems behind delivering shelter to families in crisis.
Watch the presentation

  • How Transparency Built a $17.5 Million Partnership Funding the Future NOW Podcast, Randy Dirks, April 2026
A conversation about what it actually takes to build a long-term institutional partnership at scale — not a transaction, not a pitch, but a strategic relationship built on transparency, shared risk, and organizational alignment.
Listen to the episode

  • Major Institutional Partnership: Syrian Refugee Response Featured in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Newsroom, 2023
Featured for a major institutional partnership delivering emergency shelter and humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees, demonstrating the scale and complexity of cross-sector collaboration in international disaster response.
Read the feature

Serena has presented to Rotary clubs, nonprofit leadership forums, professional associations, and government agencies across the United States and around the world.