Reina Hernandez is a cultural worker, artist, and community organizer dedicated to advancing social justice and health equity for underserved communities. With over a decade of experience in HIV prevention, Reina’s work spans across multiple areas, including racial, gender, and economic justice, food justice, immigration, LGBTQ health, and incarceration. As a translatinx person, their lived experiences profoundly inform their commitment to dismantling systemic barriers and fostering inclusive, community-led solutions.

To Reina, social justice is not a metaphor; she is not interested in a politics of performance unless it aligns with the transformative approaches of Queer of Color Critique scholars, activists, and interventions. The consequences of our actions are real, impacting real people who have lives, dreams, and experience pain. For Reina, this work is deeply personal and political—a quest toward freedom for all.

Reina has led some of the largest nurse-led PrEP programs in San Francisco and provided capacity-building support to CDC-funded organizations to implement comprehensive, high-impact prevention strategies. Their innovative approach centers on community empowerment, cultural humility, and structural competency, aiming to redistribute decision-making and resources back to the communities most impacted by social, political, and economic exclusion.

Reina continues to advocate for self-determination and sustainability for neglected communities. Their vision is an open and democratic society where everyone has access to resources, mentorship, and an indestructible sense of belonging, promoting freedom, liberation, and care for all.

Reina's dedication to social impact is rooted in a profound belief that communities, especially those “at the margins,” have the inherent ability to develop their own solutions when meaningfully engaged and well-resourced. They are committed to creating pathways for healthcare, legal aid, housing, food security, and psychosocial support, drawing from their rich history of organizing and advocacy work. Their mission is to build a world where everyone, regardless of social positionality, can thrive and achieve their full potential.

WE ALL DESERVE TO LIVE. OUR SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON OUR ABILITY TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER AND ENGAGE THROUGH COOPERATION.

THIS IS HOW WE GET FREE.

OUR FREEDOM IS NOT AN IF, IT IS A WHEN,

SHE IS COMING

AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE.