Dorota Serafin

Dorota Serafin is executive director of Polish Humanitarian Action (Polska Akcja Humanitarna, or PAA) in Warsaw, Poland. The mission of PAH, a nongovernmental organization, is to help people impacted by armed conflicts or natural disasters by providing access to food, water, shelter and education.

With the Russian invasion ongoing in Ukraine, nearly 2.5 million refugees have fled to border countries, including more than 1.5 million to Poland alone, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.

Under Serafin’s leadership, PAH focuses on four outcomes for the conflict-affected population (1) enhanced ability to meet basic food needs; (2) improved access to safe water, dignified hygiene conditions, and minimal levels of sanitation provision; (3) increased access to shelter and non-food items; and (4) and improved psychosocial well-beings. Serafin and her team at PAH, who have been working in Ukraine for eight years, are planning to send many more kits to the war victims. The organization is taking donations on its website as well as working with organizations, such as the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, to raise funds to support its work.

Serafin is leading the team at the PAH to provide critical humanitarian aid to refugees in both Ukraine and Poland. Serafin and the PAH distribute 2,000 food and hygiene kits weekly throughout Ukraine. These kits go to all people, including infants and older children. In addition to the kits, volunteers are distributing food, hot drinks, diapers, blankets, transportation information, and more to thousands of people at border crossings in Dorohusk, Hrebenne, and Zosin, including small children and teenagers who are stressed, frightened, hungry, and cold. Additionally, PAH offers a multipurpose cash assistance program for people displaced by the war.

Serafin credits her business education at the Carlson School in giving her not only the tangible knowledge to lead PAH but the courage to do it. When she joined PAH, Serafin could see that managerial skills and the ability to unite people around a common goal were missing, so she suggested changes to the organization structure to make operations more efficient and responsive. The board agreed and entrusted those changes to her. Today, Serafin’s leadership is having a direct and daily impact on the citizens of Ukraine who are impacted by the war.

In addition to being a graduate of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, Serafin previously served as director of the Carlson School’s Warsaw Executive MBA Program in Poland for six years. She was also a leader at the American Chamber of Commerce, serving as an ambassador for connecting U.S. and Polish businesses.

Serafin exemplifies what passion for people, exceptional managerial and leadership skills, and the power of a global network can do. When the war broke out, professionals from the Warsaw EMBA alumni network contacted her and immediately engaged in what was really needed. PAH has become a vehicle for giving back. Serafin’s leadership not only inspires others to get involved but also demonstrates how to do so in dignified ways in the midst of tragedy.