Tara Hernandez is President of JCH Properties+, a real estate investment, consulting, and development firm focused on transforming underused properties into vibrant, design-driven urban spaces. Through her leadership, the company develops multifamily housing, mixed-use commercial projects, and specialized developments that contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of cities.
Over the course of her career, Hernandez has led or helped deliver residential, mixed-income, and commercial developments across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri. Her work includes major adaptive-reuse and urban revitalization projects, and she is part of the development team behind the River District — a large-scale, mixed-use neighborhood rising along the New Orleans riverfront that is designed to be sustainable, resilient, and community-focused.
In addition to her development work, Hernandez is active in real estate brokerage and investment. She has served as Managing Broker at Legacy Real Estate Partners and leads venture investments as a fund manager with Reform Ventures. She is also a member of First Round Capital’s Angel Track network and the New Orleans Angel Network (NOLAAN), and she serves on the board of The Idea Village, which supports entrepreneurship and innovation in the region. Her influence in venture investing was recognized when she was named one of Business Insider’s “100 Rising-Star VCs.”
Hernandez has played a leadership role in regional economic development initiatives, including helping launch the New Orleans Music Economy (NOME), an effort to strengthen the business infrastructure of the city’s music industry. She previously chaired Greater New Orleans, Inc., the region’s economic development organization, and continues to contribute to civic and strategic initiatives that support long-term regional growth.
Her civic and nonprofit leadership includes service with the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Foundation, the Ochsner Health Foundation, and multiple community and industry organizations. She also completed a five-year gubernatorial appointment as a commissioner of the Port of New Orleans and the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad. A longtime Urban Land Institute leader, she has served as a trustee and chaired the organization’s national Hines competition jury.
Hernandez holds a Master of Science in Real Estate Development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a finance degree from Loyola University New Orleans. A licensed Louisiana real estate broker, she remains deeply engaged in public-private development partnerships and community-focused investment strategies.
Her professional achievements have earned numerous honors, including recognition as a CityBusiness Woman of the Year, a Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Laureate, and recipient of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women’s Torchbearer Award for Economic Development. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
