Nancy Hernandez Rocha

Nancy Hernandez Rocha Bio 

Nancy Hernandez Rocha (She/Her/Ella) is a Bilingual Outings Field Specialist who has lived in Sonoma County the majority of her life. She was raised in Windsor, alongside her two siblings, by her Mexican immigrant parents. They taught her the importance of education and through that she developed an interest and love of learning. Her mom is biggest supporter and inspiration. As a child Nancy would spend mornings and evenings in the garden with her mom, and would watch her mom make cultural food and put love into everything that she did. Gardening with her mom and trips that she would take with her family to outdoor spaces sprouted a love for nature inside of Nancy. That love for nature grew when she attended LandPaths’ IOOBY program and she continued going outdoors when possible. 

Wanting to be more in the outdoors, she attended UC Santa Cruz where she received her B.A in Community Studies and Sociology with a combination of Latin American and Latino Studies. There she developed an interest in the intersection between community, belonging, and nature. She enjoys learning and reading theoretical work about the intersection of the subjects as well as seeing the way in which it is put into practice. Living in Santa Cruz did not stop her from connecting with the Sonoma County community, she would come back in the summers to work there. In the summer after her first year she became a Young Steward, worked at Windsor during the summer after her second and third year, and when completing her senior capstone for her B.A., she conducted a six-month field study at Bayer Farm where she researched the way that community gardens contribute to the feeling of belonging. Her commitment in connecting with community and developing that feeling of belonging is what drove her to her position and what she prioritizes in her work.