MERCEDES D. HERNANDEZ, Ph.D.

8404 Cedar Street, Silver Spring, MD 20772

T: (240) 535-6251/drmdhernandez@gmail.com

PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

• Dynamic Bilingual/Bicultural Clinical Psychologist with multiple competencies in leadership,

team-building and communication across diverse settings and communities.
• Versatile clinician experienced with clinical populations in schools, community based clinics,
hospital and correctional settings.
• Motivational educator, creative and disciplined university professor and supervisor with
affinity for undergraduate and graduate students; experienced in educational and clinical
settings. Extensive experience in behavioral health assessments; clinical case management;
incident response management, treatment of trauma and with refactory patients diagnosed
with chronic and persistent psychiatric illnesses.
• Advocate for underrepresented populations focused on raising awareness of issues related to
cultural aspects of psychological health and illness.
• Native Spanish speaker.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Management Clinical Academic Leadership Community Outreach

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Director of Mental Health, Prince Georges County Correctional Center (2008-Present)

Correctional Medical Services/Lakewood Healthcare Associates LLC
St. Louis, MO.
 Coordinate integrated medical and behavior health care with primary care and nursing staff to
ensure holistic attention to psychiatric disorders; provide direct care for 20-25 inmates in
psychiatric crisis.
 Supervise and manage 8-10 mental health staff and case managers providing evaluation,
assessment, counseling and aftercare services to incarcerated men, women and youths in
county correctional facilities.
 Thorough understanding of custody and classification issues related to housing, treatment
and release of inmates in correctional settings; comprehensive knowledge of institutional
policies and procedures related to the care and custody of inmates with psychiatric disorders.
 Developed specialized interventions for targeting aggressive behaviors among inmates.
 Initiate and determine classification status of inmates requiring acute, subacute and crisis
care throughout the correctional center; provide direct care to approximately 20 patients per
day; coordinate medical, nursing and psychiatric care.
 Clinical member of Mental Health Court Multidisciplinary case conference; petitioned the
court on behalf of inmate population for involuntary hospitalizations; initiated petitions for
involuntary commitment on behalf of inmates.
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 Clinical member of Juvenile Task Force within adult correctional setting; assessed and
determined treatment plans for youths incarcerated in adult detention center.
 Train correctional and professional staff on suicide prevention with inmate population;
correctional academy instructor on behavioral management and classification of special
populations, e.g., psychiatric patients.

Clinical/School Psychologist, Columbus Educational Services, Inc. (2008–2009)

District of Columbia Public Schools, Washington, D.C.
• Extensive experience in the administration and interpretation of psychological and
psychoeducational evaluations of children and adolescents with special education needs.
• Consulted with teachers in Washington, DC public and charter schools regarding children with
special needs providing guidance on implementation of behavior management plans in
compliance with Individualized Educational Programs (IEP).
• Experienced developing classroom behavior plans for preschool, elementary and high school
students.

Clinical Psychologist, Oak Hill Youth Center, Laurel, MD.

(2006-2007)
Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, Washington, D.C.
• Developed clinical behavior plans for incarcerated youths; trained, coached and supervised
youth development specialists on implementation of behavior plans and positive supports;
coordinated medical and psychiatric care for incarcerated youths.
• Knowledge of mental health recovery principles; and principles and methods of psychological
services delivery.
• Supervised clinical and correctional youth workers on implementation of clinical and behavior
management plans.

Clinical Psychologist, Interdynamics, Inc., Lanham, MD. (2005–2006)

• Consultant to school based mental health staff in .
• Guest speaker: Adolescent relationships with Parents, Peers, and Sexuality, 1450 WOL-AM,
Lanham, MD. (May, 2006).
• Evaluator with children, adolescents, adults and families.
• Provided individual, family and group therapy to children and families involved in foster care
system.
• Led counseling groups for prospective adoptive parents.

Director, Meltzer Psychological Services Center (1999–2003)

Assistant Professor of Psychology; Research Coordinator
(2003-2005)
Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
 Directed university based training clinic providing supervision, mentorship and guidance to
approximately 10 graduate students providing psychological and psychoeducational
assessments for 12-15 patients per week; development and implementation of clinic
operating procedures; established community relationships resulting in increased referrals.
 Dedicated teaching professional/academician with a demonstrated commitment to teaching,
applied practice and professional contribution; taught abnormal psychology, psycho-
educational and psychological assessment; psychoanalytic theory.assessment; psychoanalytic
theory.
 Affinity for both undergraduate and graduate education; interest in department/university
service; active member of multiple dissertation committees.
 Graduate Courses Taught: Clinical Assessment II – Rorschach; Psychoanalytic Theory and
Research; Principles and Methods of Psychoeducational Testing and Assessment;
Undergraduate Courses Taught: Abnormal Psychology.
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 Provide comprehensive mental health services and programs to diverse populations;
experienced in individual brief therapy, group therapy and psycho-educational groups.
 Provide assessment, consultation and treatment of children, adolescents and their families
from a developmental, multidisciplinary and best practices perspective.
 Extensive experience with seriously mentally ill adolescents and adults; provide consultation
to patients and providers concerning behavioral changes that improve patient health status.
 Conceptualized culturally-sensitive and literacy-appropriate data gathering instruments for
community-based research project with Latina women to prevent post-partum depression;
recruited, screened and enrolled research participants; served as liaison between university-
based research team and community-based staff to facilitate implementation of research
protocol.
 Experienced using instructional technology.

Research Scientist, Department of Prevention and Community Health (2000–2003)

Prevention Research Center, School of Public Health and Health Sciences
George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
• Led bi-lingual, multi-state focus groups with Latino adolescents, parents and teachers on
resilience and violence prevention behaviors.
• Participant in Monitoring and Evaluation team reviewing federally funded Safe Schools/
Healthy Students grant implementation in Talbot County, Maryland Public Schools System;
identified measures of mental health and developed questionnaire to assess effectiveness of
violence prevention programs; co-authored final report with recommendations for
improvement in program outcomes.

Adjunct Professor of Education and Psychology (2000)

College of Arts and Sciences
University of the District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.
• Taught District of Columbia Public School Elementary Special Education Teachers to use and
interpret psycho-educational evaluation results in developing and planning Individualized
Education Plans for students in Special Education.

Director, Early Intervention Program (1997–2000)

The Center for Mental Health, Inc., Washington, D.C.
 Managed early intervention program for infants and children ages 2 months to 5 years,
increasing program enrollment by 50% within 6 months.
 Created parent-child therapy to teach parenting skills to mothers in community based
substance abuse recovery program.
 Supervised professional and paraprofessional staff providing individual and group therapy to
infants and children ages zero to five.

Clinical Psychology Internship (1996 – 1997)

Westchester County Medical Center, Valhalla, N.Y.
 Member of hospital based, multidisciplinary Crisis Team conducting emergency clinical
evaluations throughout lower Westchester County, N.Y.
 Led behavior change groups for multiple populations of all age groups; provided consultation
liaison for hospital-based family assessment services.

EDUCATION

• Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology, Yeshiva University, Ferkauf Graduate School of

Psychology, Bronx, N.Y., 1998.
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• Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, N.Y.,
1988.
 Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Marymount College, Tarrytown, N.Y., 1980.
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SCHOLARLY CONTRIBUTIONS

PUBLICATIONS
 Sparks, C., Hernandez, M.D., Stutman, S. (Spring, 2001). Results of Three Focus Groups
with Hispanic Populations. Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), US Department of Health and Human
Services, Rockville, MD.

PRESENTATIONS
 Panelist: Mental Health Expert. National Latina Health Network, 2006 National Health
Summit, Latina Leaders for Health, Washington, D.C. (September, 2006).
 Facilitator: Coping with Stressors of Being Bicultural. MANA: A National Latina Organization,
Arlington, VA (July 2005).
 Keynote speaker: “Impact of HIV/AIDS on Adolescents” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, Baltimore, MD. (September, 2003).
 Hernandez, M.D., & Moretto, C. “¡Si se puede!: Culture and Mental Health.” National Mental
Health Association Conference. Washington, D.C. (June 2002).

DISSERTATION COMMITTEES
 Rones, M. D. (2003). Maternal anxiety and infant sleep disturbances: the mediating effect of
mother-infant interactions. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. The George Washington
University, Washington, D.C.
 Belamaric, R.J. (2003). The role of family structure in battered women’s threat appraisals:
direct and moderator effects. The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
 Rodriguez, A.M. (2004). Discrepancies in Hispanic adolescents’ and mothers’ cultural beliefs
and adolescent health behavior. The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

LEADERSHIP/COMMUNITY RELATIONS

• Developed and facilitated Quinceanera Group – a coming of age program for Latina
adolescents focusing on celebrating the traditions of Latino families, developing individual
strengths and community leadership skills. Maryland National Parks and Recreation Services,
Langley Park Community Center, Langley Park, MD (October – December 2006).
• Mental Health Expert 2006 National Health Summit/Latina Leaders for Health. “Mental Health
Issues for Latinas” focused on risk factors, protective factors and challenges to reducing
stigma about mental health issues among Latinas (September 2006).
• Spokesperson for National Latina Health Network “Heart Healthy Day Campaign” promoting
healthy behaviors, blood pressure and cholesterol screening for the prevention of heart
disease for Latinos in Washington, D.C. (February, 2006).
• Study Circles trainer in Montgomery County, Maryland – taught Latino parents to enhance
student’s academic performance and achievement (October – December 2005).
• Coached undergraduate student mentors on appropriate handling and reporting of sensitive
and confidential issues related to their mentoring activities (The George Washington
University, Washington, D.C., 2002-2004).
• Faculty advisor: Latinas Promoviendo Communidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc., Theta
Chapter, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. (2003-2004).
• Facilitator for Spanish language Study Circles focusing on decreasing the achievement gap
between Latino and non-Latino students in Montgomery County Public Schools, MD (2004).
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• “Opportunities and Challenges for Latinas in Leadership: A Panel Discussion and Networking
Event” Embassy of Venezuela (March, 2003).
• Keynote Speaker: “Impact of HIV/AIDS on Adolescents” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, Baltimore, MD (2003).
• Task Force Member: National Organization for People of Color Against Suicide. “Identification
of risk factors and suicide prevention with communities of color.” Howard University,
Washington, D.C. (2003).
• Panelist: Latino Youth Leadership Conference. George Mason University, Arlington, VA
(2001).
• Led college application workshop for Latino parents and students focusing on strengthening
writing, communication and interviewing skills. Arlington County Public Schools, Arlington,
VA (2001).

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.

International Association of Correctional Training Personnel, Aurora, CO
National Hispana Leadership Institute, Roslyn, VA
National Latina Health Network, Washington, D.C.
Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, NC
Las Comadres de las Americas, Washington, D.C. Chapter

MARYLAND LICENSE #04346

WASHINGTON, DC LICENSE #PSY1000421