The Watsonville Film Festival, founded in 2012, announces scholar, archivist, and community advocate Rebecca Hernandez as board president starting July 1.
Hernandez will work closely with Executive Director Consuelo Alba to expand the WFF’s mission, including broadening its work with local filmmakers, youth, Latine and Indigenous communities throughout Santa Cruz County and beyond.
She is the first UC Santa Cruz Community Archivist at the University Library. Previously she was director of the UCSC American Indian Resource Center from 2014-2022.
She serves on the Santa Cruz County Latino Affairs Commission and is a trustee for the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History.
As community leaders, Consuelo Alba and Rebecca Hernandez are members of Rise Together, a coalition of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, and a team from Community Foundation Santa Cruz County working collaboratively to advance racial equity countywide.
Hernandez is enthusiastic about her new role.
“I am honored to be working with the Watsonville Film Festival! It is imperative that we have this space to celebrate our beautiful, intersectional identities, ” she said. “The WFF provides our community with a strong sense of pride and an exceptional platform for cultural expression through film and digital media.”
She added, “I look forward to all the great things we’ll accomplish together, such as expanding our reach and advancing our goals to increase the Festival’s impact, all while we remain deeply rooted in Watsonville.”
Hernandez came to Santa Cruz after working at the UCLA American Indian Student Center as assistant director.
She earned a master’s degree from UCLA in 1999, with her thesis “Intersecting the Cross: Christian Art Created by American Indians.” She earned a doctorate in American studies at the University of New Mexico in 2004 with her dissertation, “Past is Perfect in the Present Tense: Exhibiting Native America in Museums and Culture Center.”
WFF Executive Director Alba said, “I am thrilled to work with Rebecca and take the Watsonville Film Festival to the next level. She is a brilliant and passionate leader with a deep commitment to serving our community through the arts.”
Alba recently completed the Stanford Graduate School of Business Nonprofit Leadership Program and was recognized as a Cultural Leader by the Bay Area Funders for Equity in the Arts.
•••
The Watsonville Film Festival was co-founded by Consuelo Alba, Jacob Martinez, and John Speyer in 2012 with the goal of presenting Latine filmmakers and stories to illuminate shared humanity and inspire positive change in the community. Watch for the next festival in March 2025 at www.watsonvillefilmfest.org
TOP PHOTO: From left: Consuelo Alba, film director Peter Bratt and Rebecca Hernandez. • Courtesy of Watsonville Film Festival
