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Macarena Hernandez
Affiliation during program: Freelance Writer
Country Focus: Mexico

Macarena Hernandez recently completed a year-long reporting project for The Dallas Morning News documenting the educational experiences of teen immigrants at one of the oldest high schools in Dallas.

Before joining the staff of The News in 2005, she covered South Texas and Northern Mexico for the San Antonio Express-News where she ran the Rio Grande Valley Bureau. While at the Express-News she wrote "One-Family, Two Homelands," a personal five-part series looking at Mexican migration through her family�s story.

She co-produced a PBS/Frontline World segment on a Mexican town of potters and written for publications such as The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Los Angeles Times.

Excerpts of "One Family" appeared in Hecho En Tejas, an anthology of Texas-Mexican literature and her essays and columns have been anthologized in numerous high school and college text books. She taught high school sophomore English and has also taught college courses. She is a member of the "Hecho En Tejas" troupe, a group of writers and musicians who tour schools to talk about education and writing and who also perform at public venues. She is also a member of "Macondo," a writers� collective founded by author Sandra Cisneros.

She is a graduate of Baylor University and earned a master's degree in Journalism from the University of California at Berkeley.

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