Hernandez was raised in Pima County, Arizona and attended Sunnyside schools.

[1] She completed a bachelor's degree in global health from the Arizona State University.

[1] Hernandez earned a master's in legal studies with a concentration in economics from the University of Arizona.

[2] She and her sister Alma Hernandez converted to Judaism after learning their maternal grandfather was Jewish.

In April 2023, Hernandez was one of five House Democrats who voted to override Governor Katie Hobbs' veto of HB2509, a bill that would have legalized sales of "cottage foods" and became well-known nationally as the "Tamale Bill.