Serene Singh

About Serene Singh

Born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Serene Singh’s earliest memories were characterized by Punjabi aromas flooding her home every Sunday—from daal to saag to chole—as her mother prepared Sikh Langar in their kitchen to share with the unhoused population in their community. This five-hundred-year-old Sikh anti-segregation practice of Langar was Serene’s earliest introduction to the values that would shape her identity as a New American. While her mother instilled the humanitarian focus of Sikhi, her father championed justice and religious freedom in the United States Army, becoming the first and highest-ranking turbaned Sikh officer in the United States military and opening the door for others to serve while maintaining their articles of faith.

Serene is a first-generation Sikh American born to Punjabi immigrants from Amritsar and New Delhi, India. Her parents immigrated to the United States so they could freely practice and share their faith and build a meaningful life as hardworking Punjabi immigrants.

From an early age, Serene gravitated toward building platforms that amplify underrepresented voices, particularly those of women. She authored The Queen Machine, a children’s book on girls’ self-esteem and founded a nonprofit, The Serenity Project, that supports survivors of gender-based violence through fashion shows, mentorship, and other empowerment programming. In 2020, she became the first Sikh and South Asian woman to win the coveted National All-American Miss pageant title. As a national public speaking teacher as well as contemplative leadership coach, Serene mentors youth worldwide with an emphasis on social impact and civic-mindedness.

At Oxford, Serene made historic contributions to Sikh representation, including pioneering the University’s first, and now annual, Sikh Langar. A professional and award-winning Bhangra dancer (Punjabi Indian folk dance) and Punjabi Phulkari fashion designer, Serene always tries to bring creativity to her pursuit of justice.

In 2021, when the United States executed a woman for the first time in decades, Serene’s faith led her to question what had happened. What might a society rooted in restoration rather than retribution, one that refused to label people as “evil,” look like? That conviction led her to pursue doctoral research at the University of Oxford on the conditions of confinement and material experiences of women on death row in the United States. Her research is historic and reveals how often these women were victims of failed policies and broken systems long before conviction. She also wrote the foreword for a book authored by a friend of a woman on death row and served as an academic consultant for the Netflix/BBC documentary Aileen: Queen of Serial Killers. Through her work, Serene hopes to promote justice through healing instead of punishment and condemnation.

Serene now holds a PhD (DPhil) in Criminology and Criminal Justice and a master’s degree in public policy as a Rhodes Scholar from Oxford. A Truman Scholar, John Robert Lewis Fellow, Boettcher Scholar, and Dalai Lama Fellow, she graduated summa cum laude from the University of Colorado with degrees in political science, journalism, and leadership studies. 

Serene hopes to build on her academic work and advocacy to advance women’s justice, civil and human rights, and the abolition of the death penalty after completing her JD.