Serena Vandenberg
Scholarships and Operations Manager

Serena was born and raised in Fort Collins, Colorado. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Social Work from Metropolitan State University of Denver. During her undergraduate studies, Serena interned at an immigrants rights organization in Aurora, Colorado. After graduation, she lived in Guanacaste, Costa Rica where she facilitated staff training and developed curriculum for the nonprofit Abriendo Mentes.

Upon returning to Colorado in 2013, Serena joined the Emily Griffith Foundation (EGF) as a Business Administration Intern. She was quickly hired on as staff and, over the years, Serena has served in a variety of roles and undertaken multiple responsibilities including finance and operations, marketing and communications, grant writing and reporting, events management, database management, and project management.

In her current position as the Scholarships & Operations Manager, Serena is critical to the partnership between the Foundation and the College and provides the operational and financial knowledge to efficiently leverage EGF’s support dollars in partnership with Emily Griffith Technical College. Throughout her tenure with EGF, Serena has demonstrated foresight and insight to respond to the needs of the College, the Foundation, and the Board of Directors with professionalism and attentiveness. She has excelled in her role and is poised to grow into a broader role as the organization grows to meet the demands of its stakeholders.

Serena is passionate about helping to create equitable education opportunities for underserved communities through her work with EGF. In her free time, Serena enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, and watching her favorite basketball team, the Denver Nuggets.