Dr. Leandra H. Hernandez (Ph.D., Texas A&M University) enjoys teaching courses at the intersections of journalism, media ethics, gender studies, and health communication. She utilizes Chicana feminist & qualitative approaches to explore Latina/o/x cultural health experiences, Latina/o/x journalism and media representations, and reproductive justice and gendered violence contexts. Her research is published in Health Communication, Communication Research, Women's Studies in Communication, Frontiers in Communication, QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking, Departures in Critical Qualitative Research, and Journal of Media and Religion.

She is currently the Chair of the National Communication Assocation (NCA) Health Communication Division and the Immediate Past Chair of the NCA Feminist and Gender Studies Division. She is also the co-founder of the NCA Latina/o Communication Studies Division and La Raza Caucus Mentorship Initiative. Before transitioning to academia full-time, she worked in Texas as a news assignments editor.

  

Monograph & Co-Edited Volumes:
1) Challenging Reproductive Control and Gendered Violence in the Americas: Intersectionality, Power, and Struggles for Rights (2018), recipient of the 2018 NCA FGSD Bonnie Ritter Book Award
2) This Bridge We Call Communication: Anzalduan Approaches to Theory, Method, and Praxis (2019), recipient of the 2020 OSCLG Outstanding Feminist Book Award and the 2021 NCA Latina/o Communication Studies Book of the Year Award
3) Military Spouses with Graduate Degrees: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Thriving amidst Uncertainty (2019), recipient of the 2019 Military Writers Society of America Bronze Medal Book Award
4) Latina/o/x Communication Studies: Theories, Methods, and Praxis (2019)
5) Supporting the Military-Affiliated Learner: Communication Approaches to Military Pedagogy and Education (2021)

Book Series:
1) Co-editor, Lexington Press - Studies in Health Communication Series
2) Co-editor, Peter Lang - Cultural Media Studies Series

Awards:
1) UVU 2020 CHSS Faculty Inclusion Award
2) UVU 2020 Faculty Champion of Inclusion Award
3) NCA 2020 Activism & Social Justice Division Pedagogy Award
4) NCA 2020 Communication Ethics Division Teaching Award
5) UWHEN 2023 Emerging Professional Award
6) Access Fund 2022 Climbing Advocate Award - Stewardship and JEDI
7) NCA 2023 Activism & Social Justice Division Community Engagement Award