Diana Hernández, PhD

Dr. Diana Hernández conducts research at the intersection of energy, equity, housing and health. A sociologist by training, her work focuses on the social and environmental determinants of health and examines the impacts of policy and place-based interventions on the health and well-being of socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. Her foundational research on energy insecurity- defined as the inability to adequately meet household energy needs- has explored the multiple dimensions of this phenomenon identifying sociodemographic disparities, adverse consequences and promising interventions toward housing, health and energy and equity.

Much of her community-oriented research has been done in collaboration with community groups and government agencies around the country. Moreover, several of her projects have been conducted in her native South Bronx neighborhood, where she has led small-scale housing redevelopment projects. Dr. Hernández is the principal investigator on several projects related to structural interventions in low-income housing, energy efficiency upgrades, or otherwise related to alleviating the consequences of poverty on health. She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson, JPB and Sloan Foundations, and Housing and Urban Development, among others. Her research has been published in leading academic journals including American Journal of Public Health, Health Affairs, Energy Policy and Housing Policy Debate, among others. She has served as a subject matter expert on various academic and policy oriented committees.

Professor Hernandez is the co-Director of the Energy Opportunity Lab at the Center for Global Energy Policy and Deputy Director of the Center for Environmental Health and Justice in Northern Manhattan and serves on NYC’s Environmental Justice Advisory Board. She teaches graduate level courses on qualitative research methods, design and analysis; public health leadership; and energy justice. In 2022, she was the recipient of the Public Health Catalyst Award from the Boston Congress of Public Health and was named a Hunter College Distinguished Alumni. In 2023, she was inducted into the Academy of Community and Public Service at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Dr. Hernández has written for and been featured in various media outlets including the NY Times, USA Today, BBC, NY Daily News and CityLab. Her debut book about energy insecurity in America is due to be published soon. Professor Hernandez completed her doctoral training in Sociology at Cornell University (2010), her undergraduate degree at Hunter College- City University of New York (2002) and is a product of the New York City public school system.