Fernando is a civic researcher and the language access lead at the Center for Civic Design. He brings a lifelong interest in language and translation to understand contextual challenges in the civic process. At CCD, he creates resources and facilitates workshops on language access, collaborates with community organizations and state departments, and teaches our design course at the University of Minnesota.
Before joining CCD, Fernando worked in language access on the university and community level, designed and taught courses on theories and practice of translation, translated materials for museums and cultural institutions, and contributed to research institutes in the University of California system. He uses these experiences to inform his work on how design responds to language and cultural challenges within different communities.
Fernando holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, where his research focused on citizenship and the Mexico-U.S. border, and held visiting fellowships at NYU and Harvard University. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.