Henry Fernandez is the CEO of the African American Research Collaborative, a quantitative and qualitative research company. AARC is a diverse group of pollsters, qualitative researchers, scholars, and commentators with decades of expertise in polling, political behavior, and everyday issues that impact us all, such as health care, housing, policing, civil rights, and social justice.
Fernandez is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC where he focuses on state and municipal policy. He previously served as a member of the Obama-Biden transition team based at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has worked broadly in local government, including as Economic Development Administrator for New Haven, Connecticut where he oversaw the city’s seven development departments.
Fernandez has held leadership positions in legislative and electoral campaigns. He has managed local and statewide political campaigns including a primary and general election campaign for governor in Connecticut. He has overseen the development of technology based and traditional grassroots organizing efforts as well as large scale television and radio communication projects. He is the board chair for both America's Voice and America's Voice Education Fund, in Washington, DC.
Fernandez has been interviewed by a diverse set of media ranging from the New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe and Wall Street Journal to Variety, Black Enterprise and Good Morning America; as well as local print, television and radio news. He has served as a commentator for MSNBC and appeared on a range of television news programs including for BBC America and Fox News. He has written dozens of articles on civil rights, politics, health care, criminal justice, and elections.
Fernandez is a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School.