Dayhana E. Hernández Veras
Dayhana leads the coordination of our programs in the Dominican Republic. She played a crucial role in establishing our grantmaking in the country. Using her excellent people skills and rich experience, she supports our partners to develop and implement tailored strategies to prevent child marriage and early unions at community level.
Dayhana is a human rights lawyer, and has worked in the women’s rights field since 2007. She started her career as a Senior Gender Advisor and Liaison between the Colectiva Mujer y Salud and the National Congress in the Dominican Republic, responding to state policy needs around safe and legal abortion. She has worked with women’s organizations in Barcelona, Arizona and Florida, creating domestic violence-prevention programs as a victim advocate and as women’s services coordinator providing resources, education and support on reproductive health and rights for immigrant women.
Before joining the Girls First Fund, she worked as a Program Officer for Planned Parenthood Global, supporting Latin American organizations in their efforts to advance public policy on abortion decriminalization and access. She also coordinated the legal network for healthcare providers in Mexico.
Dayhana holds a Bachelor’s degree in law from the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic and a Master’s degree in Women, Gender and Citizenship from the University of Barcelona, Spain.