She has several years of experience conducting research pertaining to Latino communities. Her Master’s thesis focused on the programmatic aspects hindering Latino participation at a public recreation center, and her dissertation focused on how the nonprofit sector can be mobilized to increase access to open green space in an urban Latino community (Little Village) in Chicago. Dr. Fernandez’s future research will focus on the growing Latino population in South Carolina with keen interest to this population’s access to open green space and the potential impacts on their health and well-being.