Sergio Hernandez Jr.

When did you join the YJC Board?

August 2020

Why did you join the YJC Board?

I learned about YJC’s work as an Evanston/Skokie School District 65 board member through their collaboration in Evanston Cradle To Career. I see YJC’s work as critical in ensuring access to equitable opportunities to economic empowerment for youth from marginalized communities, particularly in the new economy that will emerge after the pandemic.

What is your occupation?

I am the Director of Family and Community Engagement at the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), and have been working there for almost 5 years. Prior to working at ISBE, I taught in various school systems in the Chicagoland area as a Bilingual-Spanish educator.

What was your first job?

My first unofficial job was when I was 11 years old, and got hired along with my friends to be driven to downtown Chicago hotels and slip flyers under hotel room doors for a pizza place. I got paid $5 bucks, a slice of pizza, and a can of RC cola. My first official job was working as a busboy at a dining room in a retirement community called Villa Scalabrini.

Hobbies

Creating electronic dance music, modifying old handheld video game units, and playing old school video games