Luz Hernandez
Senior Financial Careers Facilitator
What education or prior experiences do you have related to workforce development?
I hold over 28 years of employment experience and I am fluent and bilingual in both English and Spanish. My professional work experience includes Human Resources, Recruiting/Staffing, Retail Customer Service, Non-for-Profit Services, Retail Banking and Mortgage Lending. I also have a Bachelor Degree in Business, a Associates Degree in Travel and Tourism. I started working in the financial services industry when I was 16 yrs old through a work study program and placed with one of the “Big Five” accounting firms in downtown Chicago which was an amazing life changing experience.
What about your work inspires you?
The work I do is rooted in a strong desire to help our participants because I could relate and connect with the participants we serve and firsthand understand their struggles. Throughout my life, I have seen many people with potential who just need a little training and guidance to increase their self-confidence and soft skills. As a workforce facilitator at Association House, I can provide those tools to help people help themselves build a better opportunity for their families through our workforce programs and improve lives and communities. Our workforce program are very valuable because when financial service staff speak multiple languages, it removes barriers to banking for community members who don’t speak English, and contribute to overall community health. I’ve had the privilege of witnessing tremendous resilience and have gotten great satisfaction from mentoring our participants and building their confidence and employability skills. It’s such a joy to see our workforce participants grow and develop not only their employability skills, but their self-confidence and ‘professional self’. All they needed sometimes is a little guidance to point them in a better direction. My passion includes encouraging youth and families to succeed in life and impulse them to take a stand and become leaders of their own life making wise choices.
What's a fun fact about yourself?
I was on the college Soccer and Basketball Teams. My favorite comfort food is Mexican Corn on the Cob with all the fixings and Thai food. My 1st BankWork$ class gave me a nickname of “Ms. Sunshine” because they said I always brightened up their class days. I’m originally from a small town in Michoacan, Mexico where I learned how to make traditional authentic “Buñuelos” by using my thumbs and knee.
