Serene Arena
Everything is connected to everything else.— Barry Commoner
Serene is a creative strategic thinker who views opportunities and solutions through ecosystems of interdependence. She believes deeply in the power of language to shape our shared experience, and she partners with clients to elevate meaningful perspectives that shift social dialogue.
As a communication design expert, Serene works alongside communities and organizations to create messaging that builds more intentional relationships and uplifts collective understanding. A background in systems and design thinking—as well as human-centered design processes—helps her to frame questions, “solve for the right problems,” and move conversation beyond false dichotomies. As she sees it: Less either/or and more both/and!
Her areas of expertise include:
- Brand identity
- Campaign messaging and information hierarchy
- Human-centered design facilitation and implementation
- Systems and design thinking
- Co-created community and civic engagement
Experience
Serene has spent much of her career partnering with nonprofits and community-based institutions to enhance transparency, access and infrastructure through co-created messaging and materials. She has additionally been part of multiple election cycles creating content for—and connecting voters to—progressive causes and candidates.
Serene holds a Communication Masters in Civic Media from Columbia College Chicago.
In Community
Currently, Serene sits on the board of the International Council for Media Literacy and volunteers with The League of Women Voters and Sister District.
Outside of work, Serene reads books, drinks coffee, consistently tells herself to get back to drawing, and follows after a small child while contemplating our limited understanding of Time. And when she remembers to, she sits and listens to what the wind in the trees has to say. In the multiverse, Serene is a race car driver, maybe an opera singer, definitely the proprietor of one of those hybrid coffee shop/bookstore establishments … and just possibly a wildflower.