Profile: Maria G. Hernandez, MPA

Biography

Ms. Maria "Lupita" Hernandez has worked in higher education for more than 20 years with various University of Texas institutions. For the last 10 years, her focus has been in Integrated Behavioral Health in graduate medical education residency settings at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) School of Medicine. In her role as Director of Special Programs, her work involves grant and project management of 6 federal and local funding. This includes oversight of operations and implementation, coordination, budget, research and data evaluation. Most of the efforts aim to implement and adhere to the Primary Care Behavioral Health model, a population-based model. Other projects include behavioral health workforce development, primary care workforce development, provider wellbeing, and psychological flexibility in maternal health, cancer, and diabetes settings. As a native of the Rio Grande Valley, and witnessing health disparities and access gaps in healthcare, Maria is invested in working towards the Integration of Primary Care Behavioral Health at UT Health RGV clinics as a population health solution. She holds a BA in Communication from St. Edward’s University and an MPA from UT Pan American.