Paulina Alvarado Serrano is a tough and tender, Mexican-American strategist, living and working in New York City.

Her fascination with brands began at the age of seven when her older brother got his first skateboard. The pinnacle of cool had been realized, and she wanted in.

So with scissors and construction paper, she could recreate the Hurley and Volcom logos and tape them to her bedroom wall—proper evidence that she was cool too.

It would take 20 years for her to realize that her feeling of fulfillment came from mere association with skate culture—her very first encounter with branding.

Today, Paulina leads Research and Strategy at Champions Design. Through rigorous qualitative methodologies, strategic stakeholder engagements, and an acute sensitivity to the ways people do—or don’t—connect with ideas, she guides brands like Carnegie Hall, SPLC, and the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, address complex organizational challenges, and maximize brand value.

She is competitive, critical, and celebratory. First-generation Mexican-American, she has her Masters in Branding from the world's first and longest running program of its kind, where she learned the rules of branding and how to break them.

Her background in art history, trend forecasting and design, informs her ability to decode patterns and read societal moods.

Paulina is also a rower, having rowed crew at the NCAA D1, University of Washington—a program known for its rigorous training and Olympic standards.

Outside of work, she serves on the AIGA NY board and frequently presents her thinking on culture at the SVA Masters in Branding program, where she is also a Teaching Assistant. She loves swimming pools and popular music.