Allison Serafin is a seasoned education leader whose commitment to educational equity began in 2001 as a Teach For America corps member at Attucks Middle School in Houston. That transformative classroom experience ignited a two-decade journey focused on expanding opportunities alongside under-resourced communities.
As the Chief of Strategy and Development at Building Hope, Allison collaborates with the CEO to advance mission-critical initiatives and pilot innovative strategies that expand students’ access to high-quality PreK-12 education. Her deep understanding of classroom realities and systems-level change guides her approach to educational transformation.

Before her current role, Allison was instrumental in IDEA Public Schools' expansion as the Founding Executive Director of IDEA Greater Houston. She transitioned to Vice President of Development, successfully stewarding the Houston region through a C-Suite transition while securing $40M and leading the real estate development strategy for five K-12 campuses.

Between her time at IDEA and Building Hope, she joined the Dovetail Impact Foundation as its first Domestic Giving Program Officer, reporting to David Weekley. There, she gained invaluable philanthropic insight alongside a global team of program officers, supporting nonprofits across health, justice, faith formation, education, and livelihoods program areas.

Allison’s entrepreneurial spirit also led her to found Opportunity180 (O180) in Las Vegas, where she raised $11.1M to increase access to high-quality public charter schools. Under her leadership, O180 established Nevada’s first partnerships with Building Excellent Schools, Accelerate Institute, and TNTP Lead Academy. From 2012 to 2015, she also served as an elected member and Vice President of the Nevada State Board of Education, helping shape education policy at the state level.

A graduate of Texas Christian University (BS in Political Science) and the University of Texas at Arlington (MS in Social Work), Allison is the primary caregiver for her parents and three doodles in Summerville, South Carolina.