Alma Hernandez Image by facebook

Before her election in November to the Arizona State Assembly at 25, Alma Hernandez had spent her years as an activist working on issues with direct connections to her background: immigration, health care and criminal justice. Hernandez’ mother was born in Nogales, Mexico, a border city through which countless immigrants have passed on their journey to the United States. And Hernandez herself was attacked as a 14-year-old, which left her with spinal problems and exposed her to the criminal justice system. She says she will now engage those issues as a public official and will also continue working in public health, as the state representative job is part-time.

Hernandez did not respond to our questionnaire, but we’ve culled some interesting tidbits.

Alma Hernandez Image by facebook

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Glass ceiling: Hernandez is the first Mexican-Jewish woman elected to public office in the United States; also, she’s the youngest woman ever elected in the Arizona legislature

How does she feel about Israel? If Twitter is any indication, it’s love. Literally. She uses her feed to voice her concern about violence in the Jewish state and peppers her tweets with emojis of hearts and Israeli flags. Hernandez recently went to Israel as part of a state trade delegation. She took a photo of herself near the Western Wall, and once back home, took a selfie in an IDF sweatshirt at Chipotle.

Politics: a family affair? Hernandez’ brother Daniel Hernandez Jr. also serves as a representative in the Arizona State Assembly.

Fashion In addition to that IDF sweatshirt, Hernandez has made other news for sartorial choices: She is one of seven women featured in a nationwide advertising campaign for the plus-size clothing brand ELOQUII. Ads of her sporting a bold print pants suit ran inside New York City subway cars next to the slogan: “Suits up to take injustice down.”

Follow Alma Hernandez on Twitter @almaforarizona

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount