Serena Clayton, PhD, MA

Serena has a 30 year career as a nonprofit leader. After receiving her PhD in Public Health from UCLA, she worked at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, SRI International, and UCSF. In 2000, she brought the California Adolescent Health Collaborative to PHI where it thrived for 20 years under multiple leaders. In 2004, she brought the California School-Based Health Alliance (CSHA) to PHI where she served as the executive director until 2016. During this time CSHA became an independent 501(c)(3) and continues as a stable organization today championing the role of school-based health centers in increasing access to healthcare for children and youth at school. She provided interim leadership and consultation for several organizations including the Oakland School District, the Center for the Developing Adolescent, and PHI’s Build Healthy Places Network. From 2019-2024, Serena served as the first executive director for the Bridge center at PHI overseeing a comprehensive training and technical assistance program and grants of over $60 million to hospitals, health systems, and EMS agencies to make treatment of substance use disorder, STI screening, and reproductive health services an integral part of the emergency care system.

Serena currently serves as the interim principal investigator for PHI’s Center for Health Leadership and Impact.