Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational
Fund
http://www.maldef.org
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
(MALDEF) is a national nonprofit organization whose principal
objective is to protect and promote the civil rights of the
more than 27 million Latinos living in the United States.
MALDEF is particularly dedicated to securing rights in
employment, education, immigration, political access, and
language. MALDEF seeks to achieve its objectives through
litigation, advocacy, leadership development, educational
outreach, and higher education scholarships.
Antonia
Hernandez
President and General Counsel MALDEF, Antonia Hernandez
directs all litigation and advocacy programs, manages a $5
million budget and a 75 person staff. Ms. Hernandez earned
her B.A. at UCLA and her J.D. at the UCLA School of Law. She
began her professional career as a Staff Attorney with the
Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice. An expert in civil
rights and immigration issues, Ms. Hernandez worked on the U.
S. Senate committee on the Judiciary. As Staff Counsel to the
Committee, then chaired by Senator Edward Kennedy she drafted
bills and briefed committee members on national issues. She
is admitted to the State Bar of California; Washington, D. C.
Bar and the United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit. She
is a member of the American Bar Association, Mexican American
Bar Association of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Bar
Association.
