By Phoebe Muthart
InkFreeNews
Erin Serafino, executive director of the Warsaw Education Foundation, is a multi-faceted person. Serafino became WEF’s executive director in December 2021 after former Director Barb Smolen retired. A former school teacher, she now works a full-time job, a part-time job, and runs her own business.
She grew up in Akron, she said, “with my fondest memories on Rock Lake.”
She graduated from Tippecanoe Valley High School in 1998, Indiana University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, and Indiana Wesleyan in 2009 with a master’s in business administration.
Erin Serafino
She started as an elementary school teacher and spent three years teaching fourth grade at Lincoln Elementary School in Warsaw. She worked at Zimmer in a couple of roles, spent some time at Biomet (pre-merger), taught middle school art for a year, and was a sales manager for a health education company for eight years.
“I applied for the executive director role at WEF because I was so tired of some politicians and some of the media blaming public schools and teachers for their perceived or fabricated problems,” she said. “I was looking for a way to use that energy to positively support teachers. Public school teachers deserve all the support and respect a community can offer.”
She also is currently working for OrthoWorx in talent development. WEF is her part-time role.
WEF’s biggest event is the Quiz Bowl held in March each year.
“Last year, my husband was the emcee, and we had a lot of fun. This year’s Quiz Bowl is going to be even more fun,” she said.
She invites the public to watch the WEF Facebook page for updates and enroll a team of five for March’s Quiz Bowl.
“Proceeds support grants for teachers’ projects that directly benefit our kids in Warsaw,” Serafino said.
She is leading a Guinness World Record attempt to break the record for the “Longest Chain of Floating Inflatables” in Winona Lake Sept. 9, to raise awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Her aunt, Anje Anglin, was diagnosed with ALS in March 2022.
“We want to raise awareness of ALS, support Anje in her ALS journey, and have a good time celebrating this community. We invite the community to join us. The current record is 0.6 miles so we need a lot of people with their inflatables,” Serafino said. “The fairgrounds has been very helpful and is allowing us to set up there.
See the Facebook event, “Breaking a Guinness World Record Event on Winona Lake and Anje’s ALS Fundraiser,” for details and to register online.
Pre-registration is required. Participants can bring their own inflatables, a life vest, and a rope. Participation is at your own risk.
Married to husband, Mark, they live in Winona Lake and enjoy spending time in Winona Lake and Sedona, Ariz. She has one son who is going to be a freshman at Warsaw Community High School.
Over the last couple of years, she has started her own side business leading yoga, retreats, and offering hypnotherapy services.
Serafino is a certified yoga instructor and a certified hypnotherapist. She likes to hike, bike, boat, write, do art and event planning.
For more information about Serafino’s yoga classes, visit www.erinserafino.com.
For more information about WEF or to sign up for Quiz Bowl, visit facebook.com/WarsawEducationFoundation or sites.google.com/warsawschools.org/warsaweducationfoundation/home.