Antonia hernandez ucla

Antonia hernández california community foundation
Antonia Hernández was born in Torreón, Mexico in 1948 to Manuel and Nicolasa Hernández.
Antonia Hernández is an artist, researcher, and educator.

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Biography

Nationally recognized for her commitment toward the betterment of underserved communities in Los Angeles and beyond, Antonia Hernández joined the California Community Foundation as President and Chief Executive Officer in 2004.

Established in 1915, the California Community Foundation is one of the largest and most active philanthropic organizations in Southern California, with assets of more than $1 billion. In partnership with its more than 1,200 individual, family and corporate donors, the foundation supports nonprofit organizations and public institutions with funds for health and human services, affordable housing, early childhood education, community arts and culture and other areas of need.

Previously, Hernández was president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a national nonprofit litigation and advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of the nation's Latinos through the legal system, community education, and research and policy initiatives.

An expert in philanthropy, civil rights a

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Trailblazer Antonia Hernández awarded UCLA Medal

For Antonia Hernández, UCLA has always been about opening the door to possibilities and opportunities. In recognition of her lifelong legacy of keeping those same doors open to others and fighting for social justice, UCLA recently bestowed upon her its highest honor, the UCLA Medal.

“A trailblazer in so many areas, your legacy touches the lives of countless Americans in countless ways,” said Chancellor Gene Block as he presented Hernández with the special honor for her accomplishments. “Your journey’s an inspiration not only to Bruins but to anyone with dreams for a better future.”

The oldest of seven children, Hernández, who was born in Torreón, Mexico, and grew up in East Los Angeles, became politically active from a young age as her father drove her to civil rights and Chicano movement protests during the 1960s. Her father had been born in Texas but was forced to move to Mexico during the early years of the Great Depression when racist federal government

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According to Antonia Hernández, she “went to law school for one reason: to use the law as a vehicle for social change.” Decades later, she can claim numerous legal victories for the Latinx community in the areas of voting rights, employment, education, and immigration. From legal aid work, to counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, to head of a major civil rights organization, Hernández has used the law to realize social change at every turn.

Antonia Hernández was born in Torreón, Mexico in 1948 to Manuel and Nicolasa Hernández. Her father had been born in Texas, but his family returned to Mexico after government officials forced Mexican Americans to leave the U.S. during the Great Depression due to job shortages. Hernández was the oldest of seven children. When she was eight years old, her family moved to the Maravilla Housing projects in East Los Angeles, where her parents worked in chicken factories, manufacturing, and gardening. Hernández endured taunts of “mojada” (“wetback,” a pejorative term for Mexican immigrants to the U.S.) from her classmates and neighborhood child