Hope as a Toolbox: Mila Hellfyre Hernandez’s Model for Change
When Master of Human Rights student Mila Genesis Hellfyre Hernandez (MHR ‘26) talks about hope, she describes it as a toolbox. “Without hope,” she says, “strategies and tactics cannot operate.” As the vice president of the Equality Empowerment Center and a Master of Human Rights student specializing in public health at the University of Minnesota, Hellfyre Hernandez has built her career on turning that belief into action and advocacy. She has been at the forefront of many human rights focused projects, including founding Proyecto FQ in Puerto Rico, an initiative that empowers young trans women with education and advocacy resources. In addition, she has led national conversations on HIV prevention and health equity for those at highest risk of HIV exposure and those living with HIV. At the University of Minnesota, her studies have deepened that mission of advocacy and change making, empowering her with more tools to link public health, human rights, and creativity into making sure that future generations can live with the freedoms and resources often denied to the people that came before them.
Turning Belief into Action
Living in Puerto Rico, Hellfyre Hernandez saw the impact of issues such as discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, and the stigma around HIV that affected her family and loved ones. These experiences helped her discover her passion and desire to pursue a career in advocacy and changemaking. While advocating for the rights of trans individuals in Puerto Rico, she realized that something needed to change. This led her to create Proyecto FQ. “The premise of the project is to empower the next generation of youth leaders, especially young trans women and trans femmes that want to make a real change and difference in their community,” Hellfyre Hernandez explains. Proyecto FQ started with just $1000 and now has been able to actively help over 35 young trans women in advocacy, policy education, and more. In addition, Hellfyre Hernandez has carried the work of this project to the national level by gathering support from The National Minority Aids Council, The Human Rights Campaign, and ViiV Healthcare. Seeing this growth from a starting point of just $1000 to helping so many trans women in Puerto Rico has been incredibly inspiring and transformative for Hellfyre Hernandez.
Advocating for Health Equity
In addition to Proyecto FQ, Hellfyre Hernandez’s advocacy has been inspired by her work with HIV clinics in Puerto Rico and Minnesota. “I found a lot of comfort in working with HIV clinics because they would be one of the few places that hired young trans women,” says Hellfyre Hernandez. One of the most valuable parts of her time working with HIV clinics was educating and teaching people in and around the community to combat the stigma against HIV. Through this experience, Hellfyre Hernandez was also able to take this advocacy initiative to a national platform by doing campaigns on HIV prevention and care. She was also able to give a speech at The U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS focused on how bringing hope through tools of change such as organizing together and advocating for one another can make a huge impact on the community. “It really brought me a lot of joy to use my tools of change to bring hope to people living with HIV and those who support this work,” Hellfyre Hernandez says.
Building Tools of Change Through Education at the UMN
Hellfyre Hernandez is currently a Master of Human Rights student at the University of Minnesota. Being a part of the MHR community here has shaped her outlook on advocacy even further. She chose the U because she needed more tools to build new advocacy initiatives and she wanted to learn more about how to build on the systems around her to create meaningful change.
One way she has been able to develop these tools was through a six-day training organized by the Human Rights Program with New Tactics in Human Rights, a program through the Center for Victims of Torture. This summer training allowed Hellfyre Hernandez to strategize alongside other human rights advocates and learn from their experiences to enhance her advocacy toolbox. Hellfyre Hernandez is also grateful to be a part of a university where she is able to work on human rights and public health in the same space, as combining these two passions has been a goal of hers. She values the approach that the MHR program takes to create activists and changemakers that do not overwork themselves and can contribute to their communities and efforts long term without burning out.
Using the tools she has learned during her time on campus, Hellfyre Hernandez is currently serving as the vice president of the Florida-based organization Equality Empowerment Center, where she focuses on advocacy initiatives that support social justice, equity, and inclusive empowerment for marginalized communities. Her experience being a part of this organization has helped her develop her leadership skills in advocacy and expanding an already active and flourishing organization.
Hope as a Blueprint for Advocacy
For Hellfyre Hernandez, hope is the fuel that keeps her going and the spark behind every project she has contributed to and every room she has entered trying to create change. From starting Proyecto FQ with just $1000, to leading national conversations on HIV prevention and trans rights, Hellfyre Hernandez has used her resources to make impacts on the communities she is a part of and cares deeply about.
Now at the University of Minnesota, she is expanding her mission by merging human rights and public health to create larger, everlasting change. Mila shares an excerpt from a poem she wrote which keeps her going when activism isn't always the easiest: “When truth is twisted and the chasm of despair grows wider each day, Hope becomes the toolbox that carries the instruments of change. Without Hope, strategies and tactics cannot operate, for it is in each other that we find the strength to keep this work alive.”
