Bio
Amanda (Mandy) Fernandes is the Policy Director at ACLU of Hawaiʻi, where she leads the strategic development and execution of the organization's legislative campaigns to protect civil rights and liberties across the state. Mandy works across issue areas ranging from criminal legal reform to immigration to LGBTQ+ rights, and strongly believes that recognizing the interconnectedness between them is the key to liberation.
Prior to joining the ACLU-HI, Mandy worked as a senior attorney with ChangeLab Solutions, a nonprofit that uses the tools of law and policy to advance health equity. At ChangeLab, Mandy identified high-impact, community-driven solutions to pressing public health concerns. One of her favorite projects involved leading the development of a resource for school administrators to help implement alternatives to harmful punitive school discipline policies.
Mandy brings more than a decade of policy expertise and advocacy experience working in community and with nonprofits and government agencies to promote progressive policy change. She has led lobbying efforts for local nonprofits including ACLU-HI, Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network, and Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute, serving statewide campaigns on legislative issues like paid family leave, eliminating debt-based drivers license revocation, and tobacco control and prevention. She is a board member of Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks! as well as the Hawaiʻi LGBT Legal Association. Mandy earned her B.A. From California State University, Long Beach, and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
In her free time, Mandy enjoys spending time with her family and acquiring as many animals as her wife will tolerate.