As a child, Serena’s mom was displaced from the Auraria neighborhood and moved to the Northside. Now, Serena and her family live in the same area, but it’s one of the fastest-changing areas of Denver. She understands the importance of a safe and affordable place to call home.

Serena has focused on affordable housing in her time at the State Legislature, securing over $500 million for affordable housing and eviction defense while establishing protections for renters and tenants.

She will fight to make sure everyone has a safe and affordable place to live.

Serena grew up working at the family restaurant and flower shop. Not that long ago, working people could support a family and save for the future. Now, it’s increasingly difficult to get ahead.

Serena will always look out for small businesses like her family’s, and she’s a proud supporter of workers’ rights to band together.

For generations, Serena’s ancestors fought to protect the land and water for future generations. She’s continued that work at the State Legislature, championing bills to regulate deadly air toxins in disproportionately-impacted areas like Globeville and Elyria-Swansea.

Denver must lead the state in addressing and mitigating climate change, and Serena is equipped to lead that fight.

One of Serena’s first jobs after college was with Denver Human Services, helping people access essential benefits. Over twenty years later, she’s still working to address the root causes of crime, especially through increasing access to behavioral health services. Serena recently guided a comprehensive overhaul of Colorado’s behavioral health system and invested hundreds of millions of dollars to help people get access to treatment.

Serena’s experience is exactly what Denver needs to tackle the root causes of crime and make our city safer for everyone.

Serena graduated from North High School, and she wants her kids to receive a quality education from Denver Public Schools as well. Their family navigated a school closure, and she understands how stressful it can be when our schools aren’t funded and parents aren’t involved.

Serena will always fight to ensure that every Denver child has access to the services and supports they need to be successful. That means supporting teachers when they fight for better wages and including parents in their kids’ education.

Like many working people in Denver, Serena relied on public transportation to get to work. She understands the immense challenges that accompany depending on Denver’s unreliable, unsafe, and expensive transportation system.

Denver needs to reimagine how we get around, and Serena will lead that fight by investing in regular and consistent bus service across the city, building a network of safe streets and sidewalks, and shifting public funding away from ineffective and deadly highway expansions.