Meet Dr. Strange

Home Is Where I Chose to Give Back

My Name is Dr. Serina Strange...

and I am running for The Desert Recreation District–District 4, and here is my story.

I am a fourth-generation Coachella Valley resident, born and raised in Indio. Everything I am was shaped by this community, and I have spent my life trying to give back.

I grew up in the Nairobi neighborhood, an area of Indio that was unincorporated until it was annexed into the city. We had no park and no playground. Our playground was the middle of the street and the open desert. What we did have were youth sports programs through the Desert Recreation District, my church, and my schools. Those programs gave me discipline, focus, and accountability. They kept me out of trouble and gave me a safe place to grow up alongside others.

My Faith is my foundation and has been a constant in my life. I grew up attending Second Baptist Church, where I sang in the choir, ushered, and it is still my church home today.

I learned to swim at Pawley Pool and played T-ball and softball in Desert Recreation District leagues. At 15, I got my first job as a sports and recreation leader at the Boys Club of the Coachella Valley, before the club allowed girls to attend. Even then, I was helping open doors and paving the way to what is known today as the Coachella Valley Boys and Girls Club.

I attended Desert Sands Unified School District schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade and graduated from Indio High School as a three-sport athlete. I earned my associate degree in Liberal Studies at College of the Desert, where I played basketball and volleyball. I then went on to California State University Long Beach on a basketball scholarship, where I graduated and competed for a nationally ranked, top 25 women's basketball program. I later earned a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership.

I could have built my life anywhere, but I chose to come home. For more than 30 years, I have served the students of DSUSD as a teacher, coach, and now an assistant principal at La Quinta High School. I have had the privilege of teaching and coaching thousands of students throughout DSUSD, College of the Desert, and the Desert Recreation District's Indio Community Center, including many of today's valley leaders, such as Oscar Lua, Oscar Ortiz, Waymond Fermon, Jeff Webb, and Jasmine Sullivan-Waits, and Megan Scarborough-Eckel to name a few. Watching them grow into leaders is one of the great honors of my life.

Service runs in my family. My brother, Troy Strange, was the first Black city councilman in the City of Indio. My husband, Gidion Murrell, is also a DSUSD educator and a local standout athlete who played football at USC. He has coached high school, Little League, and recreation district sports. Together we raised four children, and every one of them attended and graduated from DSUSD schools.

Parks and recreation are personal to me. I know what it means to grow up without a place to play, and I know what it means when a community invests in one. Those programs shaped who I am, and I believe every child in the Coachella Valley deserves the same chance. When we invest in our young people, they grow up and reinvest back into the community.