Rate My Professor Serena Benson

Serena Benson is the Team Leader of Project Communications in the Communications Advisory Service within the External Engagement Division at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Her role involves leading communications efforts for university projects, including providing expert commentary on significant developments such as the launch of new digital platforms Aoroa and Aonui. These platforms are set to transform the student experience by offering improved digital services, as highlighted in her kōrero published in the University Newsroom on February 24, 2026. She is reachable at DDI +64 3 556 7796.

Born in Dunedin in 1972, Serena Benson studied at the University of Otago and Harvard Business School. Her professional journey includes work in newspapers and television, residence in Guernsey in the Channel Islands, and public relations for European clients during the dot-com era. In 2017, she won the Surrey Hotel writers residency award and developed a memoir on her drug addiction and recovery. Previously a self-employed PR consultant in Auckland, where she lives, she authored a 2018 guest article for The Spinoff about her residency experience. Serena Benson now applies her extensive communications expertise at the University of Otago.