Press Release - Announcing our New Executive Director
July 21, 2026
Yakima Valley Native and Harvard-Trained Attorney Returns Home to Lead Farmworker Financial Literacy Nonprofit
LACEY, Wash. — Field to Future, a nonprofit that delivers Spanish-language financial literacy training to seasonal agricultural workers, today announced the hiring of Abraham D. Wise Hernández, a Yakima Valley native and Harvard-trained attorney, to serve as the organization's new Executive Director, while founding Executive Director Jeane DeLaney, Ph.D., will step into the role of Board Chairperson.
The transition marks a new chapter for the young nonprofit, which launched in 2024 to help farmworkers build lasting financial security through education on household budgeting, sustainable financial habits, and entrepreneurship.
The organization’s unique farmworker-centered education model has quickly proven successful enough to draw support from nonprofit, corporate, and government partners, allowing Field to Future to expand class offerings across Washington and Oregon, with inquiries now coming in from a number of additional states.
A Homecoming for the New Director
Wise Hernández grew up in the Yakima Valley in a Spanish-speaking household where he picked cherries and cut asparagus as a high school student before going on to become the first Sunnyside High School graduate to attend Harvard Law School. He went on to serve for 20 years as an attorney and diplomat in Washington D.C., Latin America, and Asia before returning to Washington to reinvest his expertise in his home community.
"I grew up watching farmworker families in this valley work incredibly hard without always having the tools to build long-term financial stability for themselves and their families," said Wise Hernández. "Field to Future exists to close that gap. I'm honored to build on the foundation Jeane and her co-founders laid, and I'm looking forward to bringing this program to more workers."
A Founder's New Chapter
DeLaney co-founded Field to Future after a career that took her from a North Carolina farm to a doctorate in Latin American history at Stanford University and three decades teaching and writing about Latin America. Working with co-founder Dan Fazio, former CEO of the Worker and Farmer Labor Association (WAFLA), she served as Field to Future’s first Executive Director and will continue to guide Field to Future's strategic direction as Board Chairperson.
"Building Field to Future from the ground up has been one of the most meaningful projects of my life, and I look forward to continuing actively supporting this mission," said DeLaney. "Abraham brings exactly what this organization needs next: deep roots in this community, fluency in the language and culture of the workers we serve, and the legal and organizational skill to help us grow. I couldn't ask for a better person to carry this work forward."
Free Classes, Delivered Where Workers Are
With the addition of new resources, Field to Future is adding new courses and invites the public to inquire about hosting a course. Their specialized financial literacy program consists of two 90-minute sessions, followed by a social-media-based outreach program that helps solidify new financial habits. To achieve its mission of reaching the farmworker community, Field to Future educators deliver classes at housing or work sites, community centers, schools, and churches, all without charge.
About Field to Future
Field to Future is a Washington-based nonprofit whose mission is to help seasonal agricultural workers derive long-term benefit from their participation in the U.S. labor force by teaching the fundamentals of personal financial management and U.S. employment practices.
The organization's vision is a resilient, thriving agricultural sector whose workers are empowered with the knowledge to improve their quality of life and achieve long-term financial success for themselves and their families.
Field to Future works across the spectrum with advocates, employers, and civic organizations to deliver results.
