Sera Koulabdara, CEO of Legacies of War 
Legacies of War is a U.S.-based advocacy organization addressing the impacts of war from unexploded ordnances, also called UXO founded by Sera Koulabdara. She has received the inaugural Award of Gratitude in 2024 and the Humanitarian Award of 2022 given by the Laotian government for successful advocacy efforts in securing funds for bomb removal and victims assistance.  Koulabdara grew up in Laos. Her work is inspired by her father, a doctor who operated on victims of UXO. 

“I was inspired to think about my own friends and family and the community out there.  The diaspora community from war impacted country, and especially Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. How so little we knew about our parents before they became our parents. How little we knew about what they had to go through, and how part of the journey of learning who we are and where we came from, the strength and resiliency of our ancestors,” Koulabdara said in her interview with host Mike Walter.