Study Group with Alejandra Castillo: It All Starts At Home! Building Our Economy & Strengthening Our Democracy One Community at a Time

Outside of our large coastal urban areas, many U.S. communities have been on a downward trend of distress, growing prime-age employment gap and decades of systemic disinvestments in old manufacturing towns. The solutions are right in front of us or around us. Can we strengthen our democracy through inclusive and equitable economic development? Can we bridge the rural, suburban and urban divide through place-based investments?  When Red States and Blue States come together—can they see Green=Growth? 

GUEST: Ines Hernandez, Senior Counselor on Equity, U.S. Department of Commerce, will join resident fellow, Alejandra Castillo, in-person for the October 1 session.

The Department of Commerce recently appointed Ines Hernandez as the first-ever Counselor for Equity. In this newly created role, Hernandez will work across the Department’s 13 bureaus to institutionalize equity across all workstreams and advise senior leadership on policy design and implementation strategies that help advance the equity agenda within the Department’s programs and strategic initiatives.

As the new Counselor, Hernandez will work in close collaboration with the DOC Equity (DEIA) Council co-chaired by Deputy Secretary Don Graves and Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade Diane Farrell. Established in November 2021, the DOC Equity (DEIA) Council provides cross-bureau coordination, policy development, and administrative support for initiatives that: institutionalize equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility across the Department’s programs and operations; support bureaus in creating a positive internal culture and raise program officials’ consciousness of systemic barriers.

Hernandez most recently served as a trusted counselor for StartUP FIU, Florida International University’s dedicated innovation hub, where she advised the unit’s economic development program and put innovative frameworks in place to ensure the organization’s reach extended to all South Florida communities.

Hernandez has over 20 years of experience building cross-sector consensus that led to community and economic development solutions, new policies, and action with demonstrable results. She has extensive experience navigating intersecting issues, including financial inclusion, small business development, workforce development, affordable housing, climate policy, public health, and equity.

The Department of Commerce supports Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) at all stages of the employee life cycle.  The Department is committed to ensuring its work results in broadly shared benefits for employees and leaders as well as customers and stakeholders. By amplifying and sustaining efforts to build a diverse, world-class workforce and an equitable, inclusive, accessible, and safe workplace, the Department of Commerce will continue to be a leading employer of choice. 

AUDIENCE: These conversations are open to members of the Harvard community. Please RSVP with a valid Harvard email address.

OFF-THE-RECORD: In keeping with our long tradition at the IOP to ensure honest and candid discussions of politics, all IOP study groups are off-the-record.