Jessica Hernandez

Class of 2015

U.S. Diplomat, U.S. Agency for International Development

Jessica Hernandez is a U.S. Diplomat for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), currently serving as a Program Officer in her first post abroad for the Regional Mission to the Eastern and Southern Caribbean (ESC). Although based in Bridgetown, Barbados, her portfolio manages development programs across 11 ESC islands.

Ms. Hernandez joined USAID in 2019 as a Donald M. Payne International Development Fellow. Prior to her current position, she served as a Communications Specialist and Congressional Liaison in the Bureau for Resilience and Food Security, where she organized advocacy for the Feed the Future Initiative; as a Program Officer to the Office of Development Cooperation where she played key roles on various multi- and bi-lateral teams, and worked on President Biden’s Premiere Democracy Summit; and as Program Officer for USAID’s Missions to the Republic of Cuba and the Republic of Ecuador.

Prior to beginning her foreign service career, Hernandez worked on both local and federal juvenile-focused policies in the New Orleans Public Defenders (OPD) office, the U.S. House of Representatives, the D.C. Housing Authority, and the Children’s Defense Fund. She has also worked as an independent consultant across various subjects for Columbia University, the Government of Peru Ministry of Energy and Mines, and the CovidWatcher Project.

Hernandez holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Howard University, a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and a Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University.

 

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Jessica Hernandez

 “I’ve been a McGehee girl since kindergarten. Growing up in an environment that not only empowers girls and young women, but instills in them the tools and values to be great leaders, I learned to have confidence in myself and my actions, to never doubt the value I add to any room, and to pursue my dreams in the face of any and all obstacles.”