Arely Hernandez

I've been working in this field since 2011, and I've been in my current role as Associate Director of Campus Advocacy for the National Organization for Victim Advocacy for a little over two years now. Before that, I worked in higher education for over a decade in various roles, starting from prevention education and bystander intervention to student conduct, Title IX, and campus advocacy. While working in higher ed, I realized that there were not a lot of support for student survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and stalking. There were processes and legal frameworks, but survivor-centered trauma-informed care was very minimal. One of my goals, which has turned into a passion and now a career, is supporting survivors through their path of their healing journey, whatever that may look like. Through various grants that I was able to write and receive, I was awarded over a million dollars throughout my trajectory within the university. We were able to create a stand-alone department within the university where we hired confidential campus advocates, a licensed counselor, and an outreach program coordinator to support students in a survivor-centered, trauma-informed way. In my current role now, I support universities and campuses who want to develop and create a program for survivors on their campuses. I provide training and technical assistance on their needs, develop training presentations, and help them create buy-in within their institution to create, support, or sustain these programs. I work remotely, as the headquarters of the organization are in Alexandria, Virginia. I just finished my dissertation and doctoral program in December, earning my doctorate degree in higher education with a concentration in evaluation and policy, viewing policy through the lens of a campus advocate and highlighting the voices of folks that support our college student survivors.