Joanna Cortez Hernandez
Joanna is the Chief Innovation Officer at MAF, where she leads program strategy to meet the evolving needs of low-income and immigrant communities. Driven by a passion for social justice and informed by her background as the daughter of immigrants, Joanna centers the lived experiences of marginalized communities in program and policy design. Through her current work, she nurtures meaningful partnerships to amplify MAF's impact and advance narrative change efforts that foster a more inclusive society. Joanna brings extensive experience in programs, policy, and advocacy within the nonprofit, academic, and public sectors. Prior to MAF, she conducted research on immigration, economic inclusion, and social enterprises. She holds a BA in Politics/Latin American and Latin@ Studies from UC Santa Cruz and an MPP from USC.