Housing & Real Estate Stewardship Manager

Suairis Hernandez brings over 20 years of experience in affordable housing development, asset management, and community organizing. A seasoned leader in housing justice and economic resilience, Sua is known for designing and executing development strategies that are grounded in equity, sustainability, and grassroots power. 

Prior to joining T.R.U.S.T. South LA, Sua was the founding member of a sister CLT where she led the organization from vision to implementation—acquiring multi-family and commercial properties, establishing an asset and property management framework, and raising over $4 million in grants and assets. Sua also held senior roles, where she managed extensive multi-family housing portfolios, developed tenant-centered asset management models, and oversaw compliance reporting for investors, government agencies, and philanthropic institutions. She began her career as a tenant activist and community organizer where she facilitated campaigns around food and housing justice and developed lasting models for resident-led engagement. 

Sua’s professional practice is shaped by a lifetime of deeply rooted commitment to justice and interdependence.  Her practices are influenced by thinkers from all directions and paradigms, and by her family.  Together they expand her understanding of radical compassion and liberation. The strategic and systemic dimensions of her work draw inspiration from tactical discipline, systems thinking, and familial teachings on reciprocity, ecology, and Indigenous stewardship. This synthesis informs her holistic approach to leadership, community-building, and land sovereignty.  Across all her roles, she has cultivated a reputation as a thoughtful strategist, a values-driven executive, and a powerful collaborator who holds space for both technical excellence and transformative change. As a woman of color deeply embedded in collective liberation movements, she carries a lifelong commitment to housing, environmental, and economic justice—and to building systems that honor the dignity and agency of all peoples.