Community Connected: grassroots to treetops.(Interview)

Interview with California Community Foundation President and CEO Antonia Hernandez

Nationally recognized for her commitment toward the betterment of underserved communities in Los Angeles and beyond, Antonia Hernandez joined the California Community Foundation as president and chief executive officer in February 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 one billion dollars. In partnership with its more than 1,200 individual, family, and corporate donors, the foundation supports not-for-profit 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, Hernandez was president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), a national not-for-profit 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, and immigration issues, Hernandez began her legal career as a staff attorney with the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice and worked as counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary before joining MALDEF in 1981 as regional counsel in Washington, DC.

Hernandez is a trustee for the Rockefeller Foundation, as well as a member of the board of directors for the American Constitution Society, the American Automobile Association, and the Automobile Club of Southern California. She currently serves on various commissions, committees, and advisory boards, including the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University. She is a frequent public speaker and has been awarded a number of honorary degrees and awards.

Hernandez is a member of the State Bar of California, District of Columbia Bar, American Bar Association, the Mexican American Bar Association of Los Angeles, and a fellow of the American Law Institute.

Hernandez earned her B.A. in history at UCLA in 1970 and J.D. at the UCLA School of Law in 1974.

Alejandra Campoverdi conducted the interview 22 January 2007. Originally from Santa…