Dr. Yanira Hernandez, Ed.D., LCSW Dr. Yanira Hernandez is a bicultural, bilingual, Licensed Clinical Social Worker for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) School Mental Health department. She is passionate about helping underserved communities and a strong advocate for mental health and social justice, particularly among Latinx youth and families. She has over 10 years of experience working in various settings including community mental health clinics, schools, and hospitals. She specializes in working with intergenerational trauma, early childhood trauma, complex trauma in immigrant populations, and imposter syndrome among First-Gen professionals and students. Dr. Hernandez also recently opened her private practice; she is the CEO and Founder of Pa’lante Therapy, Inc., where she provides therapy to First-Gen Latinas and Women of Color professionals and students who struggle with imposter syndrome. As a First-Gen Latina professional, she is deeply committed and passionate about providing mentorship to Latinx scholars. She currently provides mentorship to First-Gen Latinx college students through the UCLA Latino Alumni Association and Lambda Theta Nu Sorority, Incorporated UCLA chapter mentorship programs. Dr. Hernandez was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. She received her B.A. at UCLA and her Master’s in Social Work and Doctorate in Education at USC.