Vanessa Serrano, LCSW
Founder & Principal Consultant
Human First Advocate grew from a gap I saw repeatedly in my professional experience and research: when death, suicide, or a critical incident affects the workplace or military setting, organizations are often unprepared for what comes next. Leaders need guidance, employees need a place to process what happened, and the organization needs a coordinated response.
Human First Advocate was created to meet that need by providing leadership consultation, on-site brief one-on-one sessions, workforce conversations, and guidance through the immediate aftermath.
My first experience in workplace critical incident response began early in my clinical career. Following the September 11 attacks, I was contracted to provide rapid on-site support to employees at a workplace in northern New Jersey who witnessed and were affected by the 9/11 events. I provided brief psychoeducation to an audience of over 500 employees and remained on site to offer individual support to employees who needed someone to talk with about the immediate aftermath. That early experience introduced me to the importance of bringing psychological support directly into the workplace following a critical event.
My experience later expanded through the several years as a clinician with Navy Fleet and Family. My work included providing individual therapy, brief one-on-one counseling sessions, psychoeducational presentations, and crisis-response services for Navy personnel and families. I also participated in response efforts connected to the Washington Navy Yard community following the 2013 mass shooting and worked with a Navy command’s following a suicide incident. My work later expanded to Headquarters, Department of the Air Force at the Pentagon, where my work includes evaluating evidence-informed prevention programs and research addressing suicide prevention, resilience, psychological health, and other factors affecting the well-being of military communities.
Together, these experiences shaped Human First Advocate—from responding after difficult events occur to understanding the evidence and systems an organization can use to prepare for and respond to them.
Human First Advocate was developed from that experience. The focus is intentionally specific: support the leader, support the workforce, and help the organization navigate what comes next.
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, speaker, and workplace crisis response consultant, and a member of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF). I earned my Master of Social Work from Fordham University with a concentration in Administration and Social Policy and Bachelor's degree in Social Work from Kean University. My professional development includes Psychological First Aid and specialized training in grief, loss, crisis intervention, workplace mental health, and organizational response.
Connect with Vanessa
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