Renata Serra

Renata Serra serves as an Instructional Professor (Teaching Professor) at the University of Florida, holding core faculty appointments in the Center for African Studies and affiliations with the UF Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research and Department of Economics. She coordinates graduate students for the UF Master in Sustainable Development Program and leads the Enabling Environment theme at the USAID Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems.

Her academic background includes a PhD in Economics from the University of Cambridge, UK. With 25 years of dedicated research and consultancy, she specializes in African development contexts, particularly the Sahel region as evidenced by her involvement with the UF Sahel Research Group.

Dr. Serra’s research spans critical interdisciplinary domains:

• Gender dynamics and women’s empowerment in agricultural value chains
• Climate resilience measurement and adaptation strategies
• Political economy of livestock systems
• Social capital formation in collective action frameworks
• Intersectionality analysis in development interventions
• Youth engagement in microfinance and agricultural innovation

Her leadership in the USAID-funded Innovation Lab demonstrates significant grant acquisition capabilities, while her graduate coordination role reflects active mentorship in sustainable development education. Current initiatives focus on Sahel-region challenges through the UF Sahel Research Group and livestock systems innovation.