Meet the Trustees

Dr. Carmen R. Hernandez

Vice-Chair

Current Term: 2025 - 2030

 

You’ve called Frederick home for nearly 40 years—what first brought you here, and what has kept you rooted in the community?

My husband and I had trained in NYC and Richmond and were looking for a smaller family-oriented community to raise our children, but still have access to big city medical resources, restaurants, and theater. Our love for our medical practices, our patients, and both our office and hospital staff have kept us rooted in this community.

After decades of service in medicine, what inspired you to shift your focus to education and community engagement in your retirement?

Education is a focus of medical training. It is part of your job to educate those under your supervision. Teaching becomes a part of what you do on a daily basis with your patients and staff. One of the challenges I encountered in my patient population was illiteracy. Switching my focus from medical education to general education is pursuing a wish to continue improving a person’s life by improving literacy.

As someone who immigrated from Puerto Rico and is fully bilingual, how do you see language and cultural inclusion playing a role in student success at a college like FCC?

FCC, through ESL and all its other classes, is empowering students to dream. It is preparing its students for integration into our common American culture. A lack of ability to communicate leads to social isolation, which in turn can lead to mental health issues. Education and exposure to the wider world of possibilities is key to breaking that cycle.

What excites you most about joining the Board of Trustees at FCC? Are there particular areas where you hope to make a difference?

Learning something new is always exciting. I hope to learn a lot about how an established academic institution prepares its students to be happy and productive members of our society. In return, I hope to bring my lived experience of cultural assimilation to bear on the needs of FCC’s students, to best meet their needs and prepare them for the rest of their lives.
 

BIO

Carmen R. Hernandez, M.D. has lived in Frederick for almost 40 years. She was one of the founding members of Frederick Gastroenterology Associates where she worked for 33 years until her retirement in 2020.

Hernandez has served in various capacities on several community organizations’ boards including the Kline Hospices House, the Literacy Council of Frederick County, and the Community Foundation of Frederick County.

Hernandez has been an ESL tutor with the Literacy Council for the past five years. She has also volunteered her time with the Kline Hospice House Comfort Singers and with her church choir for over 15 years.

Hernandez was born and raised in Puerto Rico, is fully bilingual, and has an interest in helping the growing Hispanic immigrant population of Frederick achieve their goals through education.

Hernandez earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Pennsylvania, a medical doctor degree from New York University School of Medicine, and completed her residency and fellowship at the Medical College of Virginia.

Hernandez married her high school sweetheart, Manny, and together they raised two children in Frederick. They have one granddaughter. Hernandez loves traveling, trying different foods, and going to different performing arts venues.