Prior to joining the staff of NeighborWorks America, Lupe Hernandez was homeownership manager of Neighborhood Housing Services of Orange County, a nonprofit organization revitalizing impoverished communities and creating personal wealth through homeownership. Hernandez directed all facets of loan production and homebuyer education. Under her leadership, NHS of Orange County ranked nationally in the top 5% of loan production in NeighborWorks’ five year National Campaign for Home Ownership, while educating more than 2,300 families on personal finance and homeownership.

At the NHS fo Orange County, Hernandez was directly responsible for all loan production activities, including oversight of all underwriting, quality control, loan review and delivery, wholesale loan purchases, marketing and advertising, compliance and training. Hernandez also developed curriculum on homeownership and trained her personnel on how to effectively communicate and market to the local community.

She has been active in the community for more than 15 years and serves as a member of Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, National Council of La Raza, and the Hispanic Council of Realtors. Hernandez is a recipient of the We Give Thanks Inc. Women of Vision Award in 2004.