Diana Fernandez is a kinship caregiver and bilingual child welfare professional from Nebraska. She became a caregiver to her younger siblings and ultimately became their permanent guardian, an experience that gave her a deeply personal perspective on a system she already knew professionally.
Diana works in Learning and Development for Nebraska Child and Family Services and has experience in case management, foster care licensing, training, and other areas of child welfare. Her experience as both a caregiver and professional has strengthened her commitment to making systems easier for families to understand and navigate. She says caregiving has taught her that resilience is not about having every answer or doing everything alone, but about continuing to show up, asking for help, and making sure families feel heard and respected.
Through GKU, Diana hopes to learn from other kinship caregivers and bring their perspectives into her continued work to improve systems for children and families.