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The Miami-Dade County Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Advisory Board, under the Office of Community Advocacy, elected a new vice chair during its Apr. 7 board meeting.
Vice chair Patricia Hernandez is a founding partner of Rotella & Hernandez, a full-service immigration and family law firm. She focuses her practice exclusively in immigration and nationality law. Throughout her career, Hernandez has represented countless individuals nationwide in removal proceedings, including immigrants with criminal histories.
Hernandez has spoken extensively on Immigration as it relates to same sex marriage, on how transgender identity influences an individual’s immigration experience, on collaborating with criminal counsel in immigration removal defense cases, on immigration relief through the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and has conducted several know your rights presentations.
In 2020, Hernandez was voted by her peers as one of Florida’s legal elite in immigration and nationality law. She also has been recognized by the community for her advocacy of immigrant and LGBTQ rights.
She has received the Visionary Award from the Miami-Dade County Bar Association; the Community Champion Award from the Miami-Dade County Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board, and the People’s Luminary Award from SAVE, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and advocating for the LGBTQ community.
Hernandez is a member in good standing of the Florida Bar and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. She is a board member and chair of the LGBTQ committee for the American Immigration Lawyers Association South Florida Chapter, board member with the Aqua Foundation for Women, and an active member of the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Lawyers Association (GALLA).
The LGBTQ Advisory Board promotes Miami-Dade County as a place where LGBTQ-friendly businesses, residents and visitors can live, work and be part of a diverse and inclusive community. Miami-Dade County attracts more than one million LGBTQ visitors each year as well as individuals, businesses and professionals seeking to relocate to this community.
Among other duties, the LGBTQ Board will be making recommendations to the county commission with respect to all issues affecting or relating to the LGBTQ community. The mayor and commissioners nominate representatives to the LGBTQ Board.
