Yvette Hernandez

Yvette Hernandez is a first-generation Chicana student majoring in Public Health and minoring in Public Policy. Yvette is passionate about making higher education and healthcare affordable for working-class families.

Yvette’s interest in improving the healthcare system began during her internship at a family medical clinic, where she experienced working with patients and saw firsthand the flaws in the system. The lack of diversity, the need for preventive care, and the growing number of uninsured folks in her community. Since then she has become involved with the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California as a Health a Justice Policy Fellow, advocating for policies that advance health equity for California’s Latinx community.

Many of the problems with the lack of representation of people of color in Medicine also stem back to education and the lack of access. She is currently working with Southern California College Access Network as a Basic Needs Fellow addressing higher education barriers that first-generation, low-income, and students of color face such as food insecurity, high tuition costs, and other crucial issues. She has lobbied to the offices of eight Legislators and Senators and has been able to secure co-sponsorships to the EATS Act that addresses food insecurity among college students.

Yvette has diverse experiences, such as interning with Kaiser Permanente, researching how COVID-19 has affected the education and health of teens in the San Gabriel Valley. In addition, she has worked on the Project Sticker Shock National Campaign with Day One, a Public Health Non-profit to reduce underage drinking and promote safe drinking practices. She’s also been an intern for Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio through her Young Legislator’s Program.

This summer, Yvette hopes to intern for an Assemblymember that is interested in supporting working-class families and historically underserved communities.