Ms. Maria de Irantzu (Iru) Serra Lasa is an expert advisor in disaster management with a focus in Humanitarian Shelter and Settlements and post disaster reconstruction, including Housing, Land, and Property rights in crisis contexts. In her practice she provides actionable advice and strategic guidance to non-for-profit organizations, the UN, Academia, Local governments, and corporate partners to increased understanding of the impacts of climate change, disasters, migration, and man-made crisis in the built environment and marginalized communities.

She has worked over 15 years across Asia- Pacific, Africa, the Americas and Europe supporting post disaster response and recovery. In the past 8+ years she has led Habitat for Humanity International global efforts in Disaster Risk Reduction and Response, providing support to a network of Habitat affiliates of more than 1100 US Habitat Affiliates and 70 Country National Offices. Prior to that she worked with the Red Cross (Spanish Red Cross, The International Federation of the Red Cross, American Red Cross) providing humanitarian shelter and settlements advisory services for Red Cross Disaster Response and Recovery Operations. Ms. Serra Lasa is an Architect and Urban planner by training, from the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, Spain.