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View Winners → Pasadena Resident Antonia Hernández Receives Award from Pat Brown Institute
Community Jul 09, 2020
Story Corps at the Joan Palevsky Center 2013. Interviews Eva Brune;Natalie Hernandez(Grameen L.A.);Tammy Johnson;George Manet (CLC);John & Sheila Suarez (CLC);Douglas Raleigh (CLC);Sharmon Goodman (One Voice/LASIF);Joel Safranek (CLC);Nichole Baker (CLC);Nancy Berglass (IADIF);Dr. Horton & Mrs. Horton (CLC);Terri Mosqueda;Cathy Unger (CLC);Rosalyn Heyman (CLC);Mike Freehling & Farida Fotouhi (CLC);Bill Strickland;Merry Elkins (CLC);Vera de Vera (CLC);Sarah Kobara (CLC); John Kobara (CLC);Robert Lewis;Virgil Roberts (BLOOM);Mark Loranger (Chrysalis);Chrysalis participant (PIA);Antonia Hernández
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The Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs (PBI) at Cal State L.A.honored California Community Foundation President and CEO Antonia Hernándezwith its 2020 Award for Philanthropic Leadership.
The award was presented during a webinar, entitled “2020: A Callto Action,” sponsored by PBI.
Hernández took part in a vibrant discussion about the crisis incommunities across the region and what can be done to create a better future.She was joined by Fred Ali, president and CEO of the Weingart Foundation, andDr. Robert K. Ross, president and CEO of The California Endowment.
The event was moderated by Raphael J. Sonenshein, executivedirector for PBI.
“Under Antonia’s creative and committed leadership, theCalifornia Community Foundation has become a deeply impactful changemaker inour region, expanding beyond grantmaking to civic engagement and publicpolicy,” Sonenshein said, citing Hernández’s lifetime of publicservice and dedication to creating a more just and equitable society.
A Pasadena resident, Hernández has spent more than four decadeschampioning social justice as a civil rights attorney and philanthropist. Priorto the California Community Foundation, she served as president and generalcounsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), anational civil rights organization.
“Change is within our power but we have to do the hard work. It’snot easy. It’s hard. You have to engage. You have to vote. You have to becivically minded. You have to participate in the census. Change is what we doevery day and it’s cumulative,” Hernández said. “I would say to all folks,please do the hard work. It’s not somebody else’s issue or somebody else’sproblem. We are the solution, and if we are not the solution, we’re theproblem.”
In 2019, Cal State LA awarded Hernández an honorary Doctor ofHumane Letters.
During the June 30 webinar, the three philanthropic leadersdiscussed personal experiences that launched them on their respective careerpaths. They also addressed the role of philanthropic organizations in seekingequity and social justice, as well as the importance of collaboration betweengovernment and the private sector.
Ali stressed the importance of speaking out against injustices andadvancing the cause for social, economic and racial equality. “That’s ourobligation,” he said, “and we need to take advantage of it.”
Added Ross: “We are going to have to challenge one another to stepup our games in this very transformative and powerful moment. … The more weinvest in advocacy, activism voice and power building, the better results getand the stronger the transformation is.”
