“I am honored that Sister Trinitas Hernandez accepted my invitation to be the Woman of the Year for the 21st Assembly District. Since she entered the Daughters of Charity in the 1950s, her life has been in service to those in need. Her most recent work in East Palo Alto has made a positive difference in the lives of the people she helps,” Ruskin said.

Sister Hernandez was born in Oakland, California and became a Daughter of Charity in 1957. Until 1981, she worked in residential schools established for young boys (1960-67), for troubled children (1967-78), and for the developmentally disabled (1978-81). For the next 15 years, she ministered to homebound individuals (1981-87), was an administrator serving teens (1987-89), and worked in an outreach program for migrant farm workers and their families (1986-96).

In 1996, Sister Hernandez founded the Rosalie Rendu Center in East Palo Alto naming the center after Rosalie Rendu, a Daughter of Charity during the French Revolution. Sister Hernandez recently said: “She always inspired me. She was always focused on the poor.”

Her service to families in East Palo Alto includes language classes, tutoring for school-aged children and a computer center. One member of a family helped by Sister Hernandez said in a local press story: “We consider her an angel. Learning English is important, and many Mexicans and Latinos need help. Sister T offers classes at no cost, and it helps people get jobs, improve their lives and the lives of their families. My brother and I are going to private school with scholarships she helped us get. She’s a blessing.”

“’Sister T’ is indeed a blessing for many in East Palo Alto. Her good works have changed lives. This is, no doubt, why Maria Shriver highlighted Sister Hernandez when the First Lady of California addressed both houses of the Legislature this morning in the Woman of the Year ceremonies,” Ruskin concluded.