About Yessica Hernandez-Cruz

Yessica Hernandez-Cruz is a queer bilingual video producer and digital storyteller with a multi-faceted background in social justice, digital content production and social marketing.

Born in Seattle, where she was raised by her Mexican immigrant parents, Yessica utilizes her perspective to connect with various demographic groups and captivate an intersectional millennial and Gen-Z audience. Yessica went on to serve in various capacities as an on-air personality, host, show-runner, writer, photographer, director and producer for Buzzfeed, Univision, Discovery and ViacomCBS.

After the political climate of the country shifted in 2016, Yessica veered her focus from entertaining her community to embracing the responsibility and creating intentional purposeful content.

During the 2020 presidential election cycle, she joined the presidential campaigns of then Senator Kamala Harris, Andrew Yang and Senator Bernie Sanders as a video content producer. She rejoined the running mate’s team on the Biden-Harris ticket to lead the VP’s digital content road team creating historic and iconic content that inspired an organic wave of “fancam” videos generating millions of views on TikTok and Instagram. She co-directed and co-produced Vice President Harris’ campaign introduction and Democratic National Convention videos alongside her business partner Julian. Through storytelling, she hopes to heal the generational curses of colonization while inspiring others to reclaim their unapologetic power and voice.

Co-Founder of Fearless Video

As a trailblazer in the realm of multimedia storytelling, I co-founded a groundbreaking woman of color video production company alongside my visionary partner, Julian Hamer. Fueled by a shared commitment to rectify the stark underrepresentation of diverse voices in the political arena, my journey began with the resounding success of spearheading Vice President Harris' digital presence during her 2020 campaign. Since then, my creative platform has become a beacon of empowerment, amplifying the narratives of your community and spearheading impactful social, local, state, and federal campaigns. My prowess as an executive producer, creative director, and digital strategist has not only been instrumental in crafting compelling visual narratives but also in producing a poignant short documentary that garnered acclaim in various film festival circuits.

Fearless.Video

Biden Harris 2020

RUNNING MATE DIGITAL PRODUCER | August 2020 - November 2020

I had the privilege of traveling with the Vice President-elect, filming for archival and digital purposes. I also co-directed and co-produced the Vice President-elect's DNC 2020 Introduction video, "Kamala Harris is Us"

In addition to my video production and direction responsibilities, I produced, briefed, shot, and edited original digital videos with the Vice President-elect and directed short interviews with supporters. I also curated and designed daily Instagram content for @KamalaHarris, resulting in an impressive increase in follower growth from 3.5M to 13.2M.

My role also included composing daily rundowns with the most recent scheduling information and content updates for HQ, ensuring that everyone was in the loop. I was also responsible for promptly uploading key social media moments to HQ to amplify visits and nightly footage drops, as well as creating engaging Instagram Stories for the Vice President-elect.

CLIMATE POWER 2020

SR. DIGITAL PRODUCER | March 2020 - August 2020

During my tenure as Senior Video Producer for Climate Power, I helped led the internal team of four and helped manage vendors and freelance creatives. My primary responsibility was to orchestrate the production of internal and external video content, ensuring that it consistently upheld our organization's brand identity as a political issue advocacy entity. I was dedicated to harnessing the power of digital storytelling to drive awareness and inspire change in the critical battle against climate change.

Bernie 2020

DIGITAL PRODUCER | March - April 2020

As the Content Producer for Bernie Sanders for President, my role was all about weaving together the compelling narratives of our campaign. I took direct-to-camera interviews with elected officials and passionate individuals, transforming them into engaging and heartfelt stories that resonated with our audience. I collaborated with data and organizing teams to strategically distribute our content across America, ensuring that our campaign resonated with those who shared our vision. In times of breaking news, I worked hand-in-hand with our Social and Communications team to produce rapid response videos that were released within minutes, shaping the narrative and pushing our message forward. Together, we crafted a compelling narrative that amplified Bernie's vision for a better America.

Andrew Yang 2020

DIGITAL PRODUCER | January 2020

As the Digital Content Producer for the Yang 2020 Campaign, I had the incredible opportunity to travel alongside the campaign's principal and capture the most impactful moments of campaign events, which were meticulously curated for social media. My role also involved photographing interactions and town halls, providing visually engaging content for candidate Andrew Yang's Twitter account. Additionally, I took charge of curating and designing daily Instagram stories for @AndrewYang2020, a responsibility that led to a significant increase in story impressions, doubling the average from 32,000 to 61,000. Furthermore, I edited Q&A videos aimed at raising awareness about various pressing issues, contributing to the campaign's broader goals and messaging.

Kamala Harris For The People

DIGITAL PRODUCER | September 2019 - December 2019

Traveled with principle and captured campaign events moments & personal interactions for curated for social media.
Produced, shot & edited original digital videos with the Senator and directed short interviews with supporters.
Curated & designed daily Instagram stories for @KamalaHarris, increasing Instagram’s overall reach to 1.4M and discovery to 8.2M.
Packaged campaign videos for optimal cross-platform releases culminating in 25.6M views in 8 weeks.
Within an eight day span, released three of the campaign's top five most viewed videos on Twitter, Instagram & YouTube.
Testimonial w/ Veronica & UFW https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1196581854616252417

ViacomCBS | Awesomeness TV

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER | HOST | Aug 2017 - September 2019

Showrun, decide stories, produce, write, shoot and host a daily Hollywood news show for Awesomenesstv, the leading voice for the Gen Z audience on YouTube with more than 5.5M subscribers and over 2 billion channel views.
Oversee the project though production & post. As well as work with graphic designer to create thumbs and titles optimized for a strong click though rate.
Since launch, The Daily Report on IGTV, has driven over 80M+ lifetime views as well as each episode seeing an average of 613.3K lifetime views.
The show alone is 30% of ATV’s Youtube programming and and 73% of ATV’s Instagram programming.

SourceFed / Discovery Digital Network

PRODUCER | HOST / 2016 - 2017

Produced & cohosted various episodes on People Be Like, a multicultural SourceFed Studio’s channel with almost 300K subscribers and 21 million total views.
Created & produced Broke Bandits, a series where brands go head to head to see which delivers the best, coolest, cheapest option with an average of 123K per video.
Increase female demographic of channel from 22% to 41% by producing shows to be commercial friendly.

Flama & Univision

VIDEO PRODUCER | HOST | 2016 – 2017

As Univision's On-Air Internet correspondent for the 2016 election coverage, I provided engaging reporting to online audiences. I also created and hosted the YouTube series "Mas Mexican," exploring Mexican identity, and hosted livestreams for Univision events, including the 2016 RiseUp AS ONE Music Festival. These experiences strengthened my communication and production skills while emphasizing my commitment to delivering compelling authentic content.

BuzzFeed Motion Pictures

VIDEO RESIDENT | 2015 - 2016

As BuzzFeed's Video Resident, I've been instrumental in creating viral content for platforms like Pero Like. Starting as a Video Fellow, I quickly moved up the ranks due to my expertise in producing, directing, and editing engaging videos. Not just behind the camera, I've also been a familiar face on-screen, hosting scripted and unscripted series.

Additionally, I've provided critical support as an assistant editor, handling tasks such as audio-video synchronization, clip selection, and color correction. My contributions extend to brainstorming sessions, where I've helped craft shareable, viral content ideas. My journey at BuzzFeed reflects my dedication to producing exceptional video content that captivates audiences and fuels BuzzFeed's success in the digital media landscape.