US-Ireland Alliance

Serena Wilson - Director, Mitchell Scholars Program

For the last several years, Serena Wilson served as the President of Friends of Riverbend Park in Great Falls, Virginia.  In that capacity she raised funds from major corporations and foundations for restoration projects.  She was also responsible for two successful public campaigns to restore Fairfax County funds to the Park budget.

An environmental lawyer by trade, Serena was appointed by President Clinton for a 3-year term as a U.S. Member of the Joint Public Advisory Committee to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) environmental advisory committee.  Prior to that she served for the Environmental Protection Agency as the U.S. NAFTA Coordinator for the Environment where she was responsible for implementation of North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation under NAFTA. 

She was also Chief of the Biodiversity Team in the Office of Protected Resources for the National Marine Fisheries Service and an International Trade Specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce.  Serena has taught environmental law at American University, worked in a law firm, directed a study of medicinal uses of the rainforest of Papua New Guinea, and built a school in the Amazon jungle. Serena holds a B.S.in Biochemistry, B.A in German from UCONN, and a J.D. from the Washington College of Law.