Serene Tan is a settler of Chinese heritage (Hokkien/Hakka) who grew up in Singapore and Hong Kong and credits this background with her unending fascination with urban processes. She holds a PhD in Geography (York) and her research interests involve place-based social and cultural identities, diasporas, community organizing and urban social movements, returning land, Chinatowns, and decolonization. Serene is a sessional lecturer in the Asian Canadian Studies minor, part of the Canadian Studies Program at University College, University of Toronto and provides research support to not-for-profit social justice organizations.
Prior to joining the School of Cities, Serene was project coordinator for the Returned Lands Projects at the Tkaronto CIRCLE Lab (OISE), led EDI education and research with DiverseCity onBoard (TMU), and researched public policy with the Mowat Centre. She has published on social movements and organizing, diasporas, Chinatowns, and cosmopolitanism.