Women Brand Leaders: Yurilka Hernandez of Psychotherapy & Consultation Group Services On 5 Things You Need To Lead a Highly Successful Brand
An Interview With Cooper Harris
Clarity of Purpose — Know your “why” and let it guide every decision. We anchored our crisis care strategy around one goal: dignity in every intervention.
What does it take to build and lead a successful brand as a woman? What strategies have worked? What lessons were learned the hard way? What are the most important elements that drive brand success — and how do women navigate leadership in this space? In this interview series, we are talking to women who have played a major role in building, shaping, or leading a brand to share their insights and stories. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Yurilka A. Hernandez.
Yurilka A. Hernandez, LCSW, is a bilingual and bicultural licensed clinical social worker, CEO, and founder of Psychotherapy & Consultation Group Services PLLC. With over 17 years of experience, she specializes in mental health, cultural competency, immigrant family support, and clinical supervision. Yurilka also served as Secretary and Compliance Officer at the Latino Social Work Scholarship Fund, where she advanced equity and access for emerging Latinx clinicians. Her work is deeply rooted in healing, advocacy, and community empowerment.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I’m a bilingual, bicultural Hispanic woman with over 17 years in the behavioral health field. Growing up in a marginalized community shaped my passion for equity and mental wellness. Early exposure to systemic gaps in behavioral health, especially for communities of color, led me to social work. I knew I wanted to lead transformation not only at the individual level, but also structurally — through programs, policy, and people.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
One of the most powerful moments was launching my private practice. We started with only an idea and a regulatory vision and built a fully operational center that now supports thousands annually. Watching people walk through our doors in crisis and leave with support, dignity, and a plan reaffirmed my life’s purpose.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Yaberci Perez Cubillan stands out. Her leadership guidance helped me see myself as a systems thinker, not just a clinician. She modeled excellence and created space for my voice in rooms where it had never been heard.
Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz deeply influenced me. The lessons — particularly “Don’t take anything personally” and “Be impeccable with your word” — have guided me through high-stakes decisions and leadership challenges.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. What unique challenges have you faced as a woman leading a brand, and how did you overcome them?
As a woman of color in executive spaces, I often had to “prove” my expertise more than others. I overcame this by knowing my value, surrounding myself with mentors, and never compromising my integrity or mission.
Do you see your identity as a woman influencing how you lead, make decisions, or connect with audiences?
My identity shapes everything — from how I build teams to how I interpret data. I lead relationally and intentionally build cultures of belonging, especially for staff and clients who have historically been excluded.
How is AI transforming the way your brand engages customers and drives sales?
Although I don’t lead a traditional brand, AI has helped us analyze behavioral health trends, improve care coordination, and predict risks. It’s transforming nonprofit strategy and public health in real time.
With ad fatigue and privacy restrictions impacting targeting, how are you adapting your marketing and media mix?
Authentic storytelling and community trust will always outperform algorithms. We prioritize client voices, transparency, and culturally tailored messaging — online and offline.
Looking ahead, what’s the most underrated or overlooked strategy for brand growth that more leaders should focus on?
Listening. Truly listening to your community, staff, and partners. People closest to the pain are closest to the solution — and yet, their voices are often overlooked in leadership.
What advice would you give to brand leaders looking to future-proof their growth strategies in the digital age?
Invest in your people. Training, mentorship, and emotional intelligence are the foundation of resilience. Technology will always evolve, but people and purpose are constant anchors.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Can you please share “5 Things You Need to Lead a Highly Successful Brand”? If you can, please share an example or story for each.
1. Clarity of Purpose — Know your “why” and let it guide every decision. We anchored our crisis care strategy around one goal: dignity in every intervention.
2. Empowered Teams — People thrive when they feel safe and seen. I’ve mentored staff into leadership roles they once thought unattainable.
3. Adaptability — COVID forced us to go fully virtual almost overnight. Not only did we survive, but we increased engagement and saved lives.
4. Data-Informed Decision Making — Numbers tell stories. We use data to track clinical quality, equity gaps, and expansion opportunities.
5. Authentic Relationships — Community trust takes time. It’s built through presence, humility, and consistently delivering on promises.
As your brand has grown, what has become harder to manage and what have you had to let go of in order to grow?
Being “in the trenches” daily. I had to transition from direct service provider to strategic leader, trusting others to carry out the vision.
How do you intentionally create space or opportunity for other women through your work?
I mentor emerging women leaders of color, advocate for equity in promotions, and ensure our workplace is trauma-informed and supportive of working mothers.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
A national investment in trauma-informed mental health care, spanning from early childhood to aging adults. Healing systems cannot exist without healing people.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them
Michelle Obama. Her authenticity, wisdom, and deep commitment to well-being inspire me daily.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can follow my work through LinkedIn, the Latino Social Work Scholarship Fund, and at Psychotherapy-today.com.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
About The Interviewer: Cooper Harris is a California-based entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Klickly, a data-driven, AI platform that powers distributed commerce. Emerging as a pivotal figure in the west coast tech scene, Cooper has won Los Angeles Business Journal “Innovator of the Year,” InformationAge’s Women in I.T. “Entrepreneur of the Year” was nominated for Google’s “Young Innovator” award, L’Oreal’s “Digital Woman of the Year,”and was named by Adobe as a “Top Data Thought-Leader” at Cannes, alongside execs at JP Morgan Chase and Burger King. Harris invented a data technology that leverages AI to facilitate distributed commerce on 25M online destinations. This significant innovation creates a huge efficiency in the market — the platform’s machine-learning identifies best-fit matches for commerce opportunities and uses sophisticated algorithms to understand the consumer to both promote and power transactions.
Cooper has been invited to speak on eCommerce, tech, data, and AI at international summits including the United Nations, CES, Cannes Lions, Money 20/20, SXSW, ShopTalk, Sundance, Los Angeles TechWeek, London Technology Conference, and Jason Calacanis’ LAUNCH Scale. Ms. Harris speaks on topics including data / FinTech / Retail Tech, fostering women in STEM, and disrupting the status quo using technology/innovation. Cooper also writes about eCommerce, innovation, data and AI, and using tech to change the world. She is a contributor to Forbes and HuffPost and has been featured in Inc., Fast-Company, Entrepreneur, Mashable, Women2.0 and more.