Serene Singh is now a Rhodes Scholar pursuing a Doctoral degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Oxford. Her research centers on the experiences of women on death row in the United States, focusing on topics of femininity, gender identity, and life in confinement. With a commitment to understanding their material realities, Singh aims to contribute to academic knowledge and recommend reforms for the justice system in the United States.

Singh's dedication to women's rights and justice system improvement exemplifies her nonprofit work, empowering women to build confidence and raise their voices. Through her Oxford PhD research, Serene works inside prison facilities across Europe, the UK, and the US. She has spent thousands of hours volunteering with The Serenity Project, working 1-1 with incarcerated women on programming from the Serenity Project’s Soaring Curriculum, focused on healing through trauma and strengthening our sense of self, purpose, and internal wisdom.

She holds a Master’s postgraduate degree in Public Policy from Oxford, where she was the youngest student in a global cohort. As a Truman Scholar, Fulbright recipient, and Boettcher Scholar, Singh graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors in Political Science and Journalism from the University of Colorado, with a minor in Leadership Studies.

Beyond academia, Singh has made notable contributions, including winning the world's largest pageant and being crowned the National All-American Miss 2020-2023, establishing The Serenity Project women's empowerment 501c3 nonprofit, winning the first-ever Victoria Secret’s GRL PWR Project campaign, becoming a Diana Award recipient (UK’s highest humanitarian award), and authoring a best-selling children's book.

Her children’s book, published in 2021, is titled The Queen Machine and is centered on themes of growing confidence, self-resolve, and boldness for young girls. In the book, the main character is Amrita, who, as a Sikh girl, develops self-confidence among Amrita’s friends in the book, Brooke and Michaela.

Singh's commitment to challenging stereotypes and educating the community about Sikhi and Sikh values is demonstrated through her historic Sikh advocacy at the University of Oxford. This includes organizing the first Sikh Langar to be held at the University, reciting the first Sikh prayer during a college formal grace, and bringing the first turbaned Sikh speaker to speak individually at the Oxford Union, the University's prestigious debating society.

A Global Dalai Lama Fellow and a current Contemplative Project Coach for the Renee Crown Wellness Institute, she works 1-1 with students to develop meaningful and intention-rooted passion projects and to implement them sustainably. She is also a passionate educator and public speaker with over a decade of professional training in debate and public speaking. She now coaches students worldwide through 3PSpeech. She has also been invited as a keynote presenter at universities like Yale, Bath University, and California State Channel Islands.

As the Founder of Hello South Asians to connect South Asians globally, the National Sikh Youth Program, an organization created to invest and mentor young Sikhs, the Oxford Bhangra Society (Punjabi Indian folk dance), and the Rhodes Interfaith Alliance, Serene cares about challenging stereotypes, fighting injustice, and promoting diversity.

Her other hobbies include teaching others Bhangra and Bollywood dancing, content creation and videography, snowboarding, painting, and spending time with her chihuahua, Betta. 

Her ability to combine rigorous academic work with community-focused social impact is unparalleled. Serene’s mission is to show that no person is “irredeemable.” That mission takes courage, profound leadership, and compassion. Serene practices nonviolence pedagogy, inspired by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, John Roberts Lewis, and Sikh philosophy, applying it to her activism and leadership. She is a Dalai Lama Fellow who has been invited in person to meet His Holiness as a direct result of her women’s empowerment charity work and PhD research. Serene is committed to using principles of nonviolence for her leadership and advocacy, ensuring that empathy and humanization remain at the core of her work.  Her work inside and outside of prisons empowering and uplifting women has led her to be invited to speak at keynotes at the University of Oxford, University of Bath, University College London, Yale University, University of California Channel Islands, and more, with more being scheduled for 2025. Through op-eds, podcasts, university speeches, Q&A, and social media, she has shifted public narratives, engaging over 3.5 million people in her journey and her mission to uplift all women to their highest potential—especially those society has deemed ‘irredeemable.’ Serene is redefining what it means to create social impact. Her work is not just theoretical or determined by net worth—it is deeply human, profoundly immersive, and actively changing lives. At just 27, she has accomplished what entire institutions have failed to do for generations—centering the voices of the most silenced women in the world. 

From an academic social impact standpoint, today, Serene’s dedication to social impact is evident in the personal risks she has taken to access these women and build trust over many years. Capital punishment and U.S. prison expert academics from Oxford warned her to quit as this “ research would be impossible.” However, Serene has conducted the most extensive and widespread research on women on death row in the history of the U.S. She has spent her breaks driving across the country, interviewing women inside their respective facilities, visiting tens of homes of the women’s families and close contacts to gather primary source data. Serene's work has exposed severe and often illegal conditions women are subjected to, including prolonged solitary confinement, medical neglect, and sexual and gender-based violence, leading her to work with 37 legal teams and 82 policymakers focused on improving prison conditions. Her research is shaping policy, influencing legal cases, educating the public, and challenging systems that have existed for centuries. Serene’s nonprofit work humanizing and uplifting marginalized communities of women — no matter their circumstances — is life-saving, justice-seeking, and has a world-changing social impact.