Senior Policy Advisor
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration on Community Living
Serena is a Senior Policy Advisor with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration on Community Living. In this capacity, Serena serves on the Department’s HCBS implementation team, which is responsible for supporting states in the successful implementation of the federal 2014 regulations on Medicaid Home & Community Based Services. Serena has spent the past twenty years serving in a variety of leadership roles focused on furthering policies and systems-change efforts that promote the socioeconomic empowerment of low-income working families, individuals with disabilities, aging Americans and other at-risk populations. Prior to joining ACL, Serena served as a Senior Policy Adviser at the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), where she was responsible for implementing ODEP’s successful Employment First State Leadership Mentoring Program (EFSLMP). Before entering public service within the federal executive branch, Serena was the Founder of AnereS Strategies LLC, a government relations consulting enterprise focused on developing innovative public policy strategies aimed at promoting the socioeconomic empowerment of low-income working families, citizens with disabilities, older Americans, and other at-risk populations. During this time, Serena also served as the Executive Director of the Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination (CPSD). Earlier in her career, Serena worked as a senior advisor to two members of the U.S. Congress, a top 20 national lobbying firm, a Fortune 100 global biopharmaceutical company, and internationally for two foreign governments. Serena holds a B.A. in International & Public Affairs from Westminster College; an M.P.H. in International Health Policy and M.A. in International Development Policy from George Washington University; and a PhD in Public Administration from American University.
Saturday, October 12
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM