Emerald Hernandez-Parra Email and Phone Number

• Providing strategic guidance to the Department of Development and the City Columbus regarding community investment and impact• Partnering with other city departments in innovative ways to achieve additional investments and higher impacts on behalf of community programs.• Utilizing GIS software and Tableau for statistical reporting to increase targeted investments across the city.• Working in partnership with multiple departments to develop new policies/programming to assist all of Columbus residents obtain equitable access to housing and other basic needs.• Managing the city’s Homeless Advocacy Liaison and policy creation regarding the unsheltered community. Currently redefining the city’s outreach and remediation processes in partnership with both non-profit and public entity stakeholders in an effort to increase the positive outcomes of remediation.

The Ohio Council of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is currently working on publishing our report focusing on educational disparities Ohio's students are facing based on their racial/ethnic background, physical and learning capabilities, and socio-economic level. Tentative release date Fall 2019.In 2017, the Ohio Council published our report on the hidden problem of human trafficking and how it has affected Ohioans, specifically focusing on their Civil Rights. The project examined the ways state and local government agencies and other organizations in Ohio have addressed the problem. The report examined equal protection violations and discrimination based upon the race, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and age of the victims.

Managed the City of Columbus Safety Strategies programs and initiatives, both internally and externally, to increase neighborhood safety through strategic infrastructure investments. These projects include investments in street lighting, sidewalks, and urban gardens; and the creation of the 2020 Youth and Family Empowerment Grants, which was an $800,000 programmatic investment in grassroots organizations.Partnered with Department of Technology to create integrated GIS system mapping violent crimes, nuisance reports, and other city services to assess community needs and community violence experience.Served as the City’s Homeless Advocacy Liaison with a focus on coordinating outreach to encampments and remediation events across the city. Coordinated cross-functional, multi-Stakeholder remediation and outreach events/efforts across the city and on behalf of the City of Columbus, and Ohio Department of Transportation. Worked with both internal and external Stakeholders to redefine the outreach and remediation processes with a focus on increasing the positive outcomes of remediation. Stakeholders include Columbus Police Department, Columbus Public Health, Community Shelter Board, Homeless Outreach Specialists, and other interested parties. Created first Everbridge automated response and after-action reporting process for Homeless Outreach Notification System to increase communication and impact of City and Stakeholder outreach.Managed CDBG projects and contracts in low-income census tracks focus on empowerment and infrastructure investments.

• Served as federal legislative lead by maintaining relationships with Columbus’ federal delegation members and their aides while advocating on behalf of the City of Columbus’ interests.• Represented the Mayor on the Columbus Regional Coalition, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, and Rebuilding Lives Funding Collaborative.• Homeless Advocacy Liaison; coordinated remediations and outreach across the city on behalf of state, county, and city departments. • Served as the Mayor’s Office Liaison to local government based collective bargaining units.• Represented the Mayor on the USDOT Smart Cities’ application team, which resulted in the Smart Columbus program.

• Provided legislative assistance and guidance to Columbus City Council.• Staffed Small and Minority Business, Environment, and Veterans’ Affairs legislative committee chairs.• Established neighborhood engagement efforts on behalf of Columbus City Council by attending Area Commission and Civic Association meetings.• Worked with city departments to resolve issues on behalf of Columbus constituents.

• Monitored state policies, legislation, and recommended organization stance and strategy; lobbied the Ohio General Assembly and U.S. Congress on issues affecting OCSEA members. • Represented OCSEA to outside stakeholders on matters relating to OCSEA’s political involvement and organizational policies. • Recommended PAC expenditures based on candidate interviews and polling data. • Reorganized the nine District Grassroots Councils creating a grassroots-based strategic plan for the 2012 and 2014 election cycles that resulted in record member participation statewide.• Directed and managed political mobilization of OCSEA in the 2012 election cycle, that lead to OCSEA leading the nation is member outreach.

• Held one of seven Gubernatorial appointed positions.• Advocated for Hispanic/Latino issues across the state, and attended multiple White House briefings and leadership forums.• Promoted the commission and agenda to Ohio Statehouse elected officials.• Assisted in the creation of agency strategy for state biennium budget resulting in sustaining the commission without undergoing substantial cuts.

• Founding administrative team of the Department of Veterans Services; served as Policy/Legislative lead and Liaison.• Monitored federal and state legislation and recommend/implemented agency stance and strategy. • Successfully lobbied for the passage of Ohio’s Veterans Bonus, a constitutional amendment designating $200 million dollars, as well as enacting state laws and administrative rules, resulting in the issuance of over 14,000 payments since the start of the program in August 2010.• Developed and designed a program to identify Ohio’s veterans through the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, resulting in the identification of 500,000 veterans by January of 2011.

• Represented the Governor’s Office as the first point of contact for more than fifty state agency direct reports.• Coordinated and interviewed Legislative Liaisons for executive state agencies.• Conducted bi-weekly briefings with executive state agencies and disseminated legislative guidance.

• Represented the Department of Public Safety, its divisions and Ohio Domestic Violence Network to the Ohio General Assembly, state and local officials.• Processed and worked on constituent cases from federal and state officials.• Worked alongside the FEMA congressional team during the 2007 Northwest Ohio flooding on recovery and relief outreach.