Viri Hernandez is the executive director for the Center for Neighborhood Leadership in Phoenix, Arizona.

Hernandez has endured her fair share of discrimination while living as an undocumented immigrant in Arizona and as a Latina woman of color.  When she turned nineteen, SB 1070 was passed and it served as her wakeup call, making her realize that she could no longer afford to live in fear.

Hernandez knows how vital diversity and inclusion is, and it is important to her that her staff be comprised of different people with various backgrounds.

She fights for the rights of the LGBTQ community because she believes no human being deserves to be discriminated against and that all people should be treated fairly and equally.