Román D. Hernández ’00

I am driven to be the best attorney that I possibly can, and also an attorney who is committed to his community. I have held several roles in which I have been the first “Hispanic” to serve on boards of directors, such as the Oregon Community Foundation and the Oregon Health & Sciences University. Additionally, I was the first Hispanic to serve as board chair of the Portland Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. In all of those roles, I try to raise the voice and issues affecting the Oregon Hispanic community because if I did not raise them, no one would. I believe in diversifying the legal profession, which in Oregon is only 1.77 percent Hispanic. A judiciary and bar that better reflect the diversity of Oregon is important for the administration of justice. To this end, in 2002, along with two friends, I helped create the Oregon Hispanic Bar Association. I also served as national president of the Hispanic National Bar Association. Our society is better served by a diverse legal profession.