Sera is a collaborative researcher who enjoys working with partners to explore important questions and generate actionable insights. She joined Wilder in 2014.

Sera is passionate about working across sectors connected to food and environmental justice to advance equitable systems and support healthier, more resilient communities. She leads the Statewide Hunger Study, a partnership with Second Harvest Heartland, to gather critical information about food security in Minnesota via a population survey. She has also built relationships with a wide range of community-based organizations working toward food justice. Her work with state agencies, cities, and nonprofits in energy and environment fields has helped to support these partners to make informed decisions about outreach and program strategy. Though Sera often conducts mixed-methods studies, she has particular expertise in qualitative design and analysis and is skilled at uncovering and uplifting stories and themes that drive deeper understanding.

Sera holds a master’s degree in applied anthropology from Oregon State University and a bachelor’s degree in marketing and French from Concordia College in Moorhead. She has also studied at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul.

Sera serves on the Women’s Environmental Network board and volunteers on a community task force as well as with her daughter’s school. She finds peace in the woods and on the water, has a deep love of food, and gets easily lost in a puzzle or book.