Manny Hernandez for SHPE President 2011/2013

In 2004, I led the team that created the Professional Development Strategy (PDS). This was rolled out for the first time at the following national conference. The following year, I lead a team that created the Executive Leadership Institute (ELI). Finally, one year later I created Management Growth Training (MGT). These three offerings, PDS, ELI, and MGT, were intended to benefit our professional members. While many felt these classes were duplication of what our members receive on the job, the reality was that many of our members were unable to attend company sponsored classes due to the many obstacles Hispanics must overcome in the workplace.

To further emphasize the concept that these were targeted to benefit our members, only paid regular members were able to participate in the classes. Over the subsequent years, numerous professional members participated in these offerings. Many of the participants reported that attending these classes accelerated their careers.

Since these beginning steps, our national conference committees have expanded the workshop offerings to our members to include hands on classes and certification classes.
During my term as National President we created the Professional Development Committee. The committee charter was to expand the offering of professional courses offered to our members.

I am committed to continuing these benefits for our professional members.

Elect me SHPE President, 2011-2013.

If you are a professional member who has benefited from one of these programs, please share the value of these programs here–and ensure that focused effort on professionals continues with my reelection as SHPE President.

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Dear fellow SHPE Member,
I am sending you this email to ask for you vote for re-election as the SHPE National President.
In the last two years, by working together with you and other SHPE Members, we were able to strike a new path for SHPE’s future.
Together, we were able to achieve the best year in SHPE history, when we’ve reached for the first time ever over 10,000 members. What an amazing and wonderful milestone. Only thanks to all your hard work in the chapters and regions that we’re able to attract so many members! For this, I would like to thank you!
There were also other major achievements:
- We have successfully transformed our organization from an executive director leadership model to a chief executive officer (CEO), and the results are already visible - the CEO model has demonstrated that having SHPE run by a professional staff and guided by NBOD can operate more efficiently while exceeding expectations of our members and corporate partners.
- The recent national conference in Cincinnati was the best organized conference we’ve ever had - with the perfect balance of volunteers and staff to deliver a high-caliber and profitable conference. The feedback we’ve received from you and our partners was extremely positive!
- We have established an office in Washington DC to connect with our nation’s top leaders who shape economic and educational direction.
- Our first ever national press conference in Washington, DC this past summer provided the platform the highlight SHPE and our achievements to US public.
-Today we have 313 chapters nationwide. 241 student, 40 professional and 32 SHPE Jr.
-We have conducted an audit of our financial system and are implementing changes to bring SHPE into compliance with new state and federal requirements.
-Last year, Google gave SHPE $250,000 in unrestricted funds.
We all can be very proud of what we’ve achieved together in the last two years!
Thanks to all your hard work, SHPE is viewed now as the pre-eminent national Hispanic engineering organization by the public, private, and non-profit sectors. We are an extraordinary organization with highly dedicated and passionate members who make a difference in the lives of so many people around us. Here are some examples:
-When I see young Hispanic children being tutored in Math by our members - I am proud of our organization.
-When I see our members receiving scholarships so they can continue their education which otherwise they could not effort - I am humbled.
-When I see our members receiving regional and national awards - I am inspired.
Yes, we are making a difference for our members, our partners, our communities where we live, and our nation, and we can be very proud of it!
As a long-serving National Board member and now as your current President, I have committed myself to helping SHPE reach its fullest potential. SHPE has had solid long term growth and many successes, but I believe we must aim even higher – we must win the future for future generations of SHPE Members!
With your support I will continue to leverage my hard won SHPE experience to move us forward on a range of initiatives that are vital to SHPE’s members, and helpful to our corporate supporters, such as:
- continue to expand our presence in Washington DC
- make the 2011 National Conference the best ever
- increase the number of scholarships by 20%
Somebody said once wisely: Don’t change horses in midstream.
We are half-way through into our transformation of SHPE into an organization that will provide tremendous benefits for our members and partners. As the results of the last two years have shown, we’re on the right track, and we’re making a significant progress. I am honored and privileged to be part of the SHPE Leadership Team as your President, and I would like to continue to contribute to SHPE in the next two years. We need consistency in leadership and therefore I would be honored to continue as your President for another two years.
I pledge to continue working towards transforming SHPE into the kind of organization our members want to belong to, now and tomorrow.
My commitment, experience across many roles at the local, regional and national level and vision are the primary reasons you should vote for me in 2011. If re-elected, I will continue to work with the SHPE NBOD – and you the members, SHPE’s greatest strength — to reach our ultimate potential and fulfill our mission: SHPE — The Source for Quality Hispanic Engineers and Technical Talent!!
Serving as SHPE President requires dedication, vision, strong leadership, and strategic thinking. The road ahead is full of challenges. As many of you know from my successful track record, I get things done. Please examine my accomplishments and base your decision on this record.
I humbly ask for your support and vote in re-electing me as your SHPE National President. Together we will win the future! Because the future begins TODAY!

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It’s hard to believe that two years have already passed since I was elected your president. These years have been filled with extraordinary memories and many lessons that will guide your national officers in fulfilling the mission of our organization.
As the 2010-2011 school year draws to a close, be assured that SHPE’s leaders have been working hard on your behalf. Currently a team of staff and volunteers are piloting OpenSHPE, primarily in regions 4 and 7, for a new open-source platform that provides a set of API and tools. This will enable developers to integrate with SHPE’s data and applications. Developers can write applications that run on shpe.org, chapter websites, Facebook, Android, iPhone, and many other external websites and devices. This pilot promises benefits in a streamlined technology interface and an open IT infrastructure, ultimately enabling members to connect and collaborate without borders and will allow regions and chapters to create applications to promote themselves and members.
Additionally, transitioning the SHPE Conference from being led by volunteers to being managed by professional staff has greatly improved efficiency as well as the overall quality of the event. This tremendous milestone in the development and maturing of our national staff allows the National Board of Directors to focus more on achieving SHPE’s vision. Still, there are plenty of opportunities for volunteers to become involved and gain valuable experience in managing teams, networking and mentoring.
All of this has contributed to firmly establishing SHPE as The Source for Quality Hispanic Professional Engineers and Technical Talent. Search for “Hispanic engineers” on Google and the number one hit is our Society. Not bad, considering that we started with a group of five Los Angeles Department of Water and Power engineers!
Doubtless, many of you have been affected by the financial uncertainty and tumultuous employment market that has our country in its grasp. In times such as these, it falls on organizations like SHPE to provide for its members. We have responded by offering targeted professional development programs such as Management Growth Training (MGT) and professional certification tracks at the SHPE Conference. By continually optimizing programs and services for our members, we ensure a solid base for their future growth.
As an organization, we must do our part in improving an educational system that has an alarmingly high dropout rate among Latino youths. Only 53 percent of Hispanic students graduate in four years. Furthermore, joblessness among Latinos has escalated to 13.0 percent – 3.6 points above the national average. To help bridge this gap and reduce the dropout rate, federal initiatives must be introduced and supported to provide significant additional resources to schools and support higher expectations for Latinos.
Prioritizing education is the antidote to the dropout poison and resulting high unemployment. To strengthen SHPE’s stand behind this cause, our presence in Washington, D.C., has enabled us to forge closer partnerships with likeminded organizations such as the National GEM Consortium, the National Society of Black Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers. As we demand broader access to quality education, we also must advocate for expanded infrastructure that boosts commerce and employment opportunities. True, no individual can determine these national goals, but much can be accomplished as we work together. SHPE is determined to use all available resources in order to reverse these trends within the Hispanic community.
As we move forward with increased staff and strong corporate support, the responsibility of providing America’s engineering innovations rests squarely on the shoulders of SHPE members. Professionals and students alike can rise to the challenge with full confidence that their SHPE familia will support them. I urge each member to maximize every opportunity that SHPE presents by demonstrating sincere personal interest and enthusiastic involvement. In so doing, SHPE will open doors that will advance their careers and make their personal lives more fulfilling.
Our sense of familia obliges us to give back and make a difference, individually and collectively. Please consider this a personal invitation to share your ideas and concerns about the Society with me. My in-box is always open. Find me on Facebook and let’s begin a dialog. This weekend I will be attending Regional Leadership Development Conferences (RLDC) in Regions 1and 2. Over the next two weeks I will be attending RLDCs in Regions 5 and 6. I look forward to meeting you or getting reacquainted.

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On October 19, I joined government officials, experts in education and Hispanic community leaders as President Obama signed an executive order renewing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.
The revised executive order places a high priority on raising Hispanic education attainment at every level – an essential aspect in the United States attaining the ambitious education goals set by the President and ensuring America’s future competitiveness in a global economy. It widens the scope of the prior initiative by increasing partnerships with the private sector and soliciting more input from the community.
The ceremony followed a daylong National Education Summit and Call to Action hosted by the U.S. Department of Education. It brought together Administration officials, experts in education and Hispanic community leaders from around the country on issues ranging from early childhood learning to higher education. They examined how to increase education access for Hispanic Americans, improve their lives and help the nation achieve the highest college attainment rate in the world by 2020.
The forum also connected national Latino education and community leaders to senior Education Department and Obama administration officials. Participants heard from organizers of community-wide education initiatives who are working in partnership with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.
In light of the many educational challenges facing the Hispanic community, this was an incredible opportunity to discuss with government officials how SHPE could engage with the Administration to achieve the goals of the Executive Order. There was particular interest how our Ph.D. members could contribute toward innovative solutions.
The White House Initiative was established in September 1990 to provide advice and guidance to the Secretary of Education on education issues related to Hispanics and address academic excellence and opportunities for the Hispanic community. It was subsequently continued by President William J. Clinton and President George W. Bush. Under President Obama, the office is led by Juan Sepulveda who has taken aggressive steps to hear from communities across the country about what works and what doesn’t work and how the Initiative can better serve the Hispanic community.

Details on the summit and signing, including the agenda and speakers are posted at https://sites.google.com/site/nationaleducationsummit/.

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As individuals who benefit from the training and experience provided to members of a diversity organization, we have the responsibility to not only grow our potential but also to confidently extend the invitation to prospective members: “Join SHPE. It’s good for you!” Indeed, diversity organizations are instrumental in supporting our personal and professional pursuits, but they also are critical in achieving a greater cause. For SHPE, that means acting as The Source for Quality Hispanic Engineers and Technical Talent.
At the Regional Leadership Development Conference held at the University of Utah, many of us were fortunate to hear Vice Provost Dr. Octavio Villalpando discuss the results of his research on diversity organizations. His findings? Students who are involved in diversity organizations become more effective critical thinkers and leaders. They also have better communication and organizational skills. “Hispanic peer groups help students mitigate the isolation they feel in education and present some of the central cultural resources that empower and nourish their success,” Dr. Villalpando concluded. “Their altruistic values are reinforced, and their commitment to pursuing careers in service to their communities is increased as a direct result of having been part of a peer group during college.”
When coupled with a recent study by the Pew Research Center, the findings underscore the critical role SHPE has in preparing Hispanic technical leaders. According to the Pew report, in 2008 minorities accounted for three-quarters of the increase in college freshman enrollment, with Hispanics representing the largest percentage. Yet two out of three of these students won’t graduate college, and those that do graduate won’t be majoring in the STEM fields. The unfortunate outcome leaves a vacuum of technical talent at a time when the world is facing scientific issues of enormous magnitude.
Now more than ever, Hispanic engineering students must anchor themselves to their education and their culture, harnessing their combined power to complete their degrees and join America’s technical work force. As I attend SHPE conferences and events across the nation, I am encouraged by the quality of our student members. They prove that SHPE is meeting its responsibility to fill the talent gap through the programs and services it provides to middle, high school and university students as well as professional members. But we can − and must − do more.
Today SHPE has 241 student chapters, 40 professional chapters and 29 junior chapters who are buoyed by 53 corporate partners and $2 million in grants generated through AHETEMS, our nonprofit foundation. In January SHPE joined 22 partner organizations in receiving a $250,000 grant from Google. Barely a year old, our Washington, D.C., office has already established stronger ties between SHPE and the federal government as well as sister organizations such as the National GEM Consortium, National Society of Black Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers.
In May, our Management Growth Training program enabled 35 professional members to obtain all the credits required to take the Project Management Professional exam and gain certification. As SHPE expands and improves on such programs, it deepens my conviction that we can go beyond preparing qualified members to become team or project leads. Why not vice president of engineering or president of a business unit? We can fill any gap by expanding our emphasis on serving as a learning organization. As we increase our visibility and improve recruitment and retention, the organization will grow. Through it all, it will be important for us to continue leveraging our community involvement, emphasizing performance excellence and strengthening our partnerships.
While assimilating to certain norms and practices is expected in the workplace, Dr. Villalpando discovered that true success is intrinsically linked to diversity, even on a personal level. “In the lives of minority students,” he said, “claiming and maintaining a critical identity grounded in their cultural beliefs, values, norms and languages become an issue of endurance, resilience and self preservation.” Ultimately, SHPE seeks to validate the individual and collective contributions of its members and ensure the success of their every endeavor.

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I am writing this brief note to provide an update on my comments at the NILA general session.

SHPE’s National Board of Directors (NBOD) and selected national committee chairs participated in the National Strategic Retreat three weekends ago. We participated in three days of training; however, I am particularly excited about the material covered on the third day.

With the assistance of a management trainer, we discussed how to make NBOD meetings more effective and move them to a strategic level as opposed to an operations level. We were instructed on how to make our meeting agendas follow a higher level model, used by other successful non profits, with a focus on strategic initiatives. We will carefully transition to this type of model, where the group will have dialogue first to address the issues and options and fully understand the impact of all options before moving into deliberation, where the actual decisions are made. Once a decision has been made, the implementation of that decision will flow to SHPE National’s senior staff. The object of the transition is to move the NBOD to a policy board and away from a “hands on” board.

My excitement is based on the promise of a more business-oriented board which will focus on initiatives and policies. The staff will be focused, and responsible for, execution of the policies decided upon by the board. I welcome your comments and questions as SHPE Inc operations continue to evolve toward a business centric model.

Manny Hernandez, President
SHPE Inc

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Hitting the mail next week are over 1,000 copies of SHPE Magazine’s Fall 2010 issue–going out to nearly 100 high schools nationwide who will receive multiple copies. Many of these high school copies are sponsored by the Society’s most valued partners. With this outreach, it is our hope to positively influence students at the high school level to consider technical studies in college. The magazines are distributed to Hispanic students through career counselors and guidance offices.

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How’s this for a ringing endorsement for the work the Society of Hispanic Engineers does in being the “Source for Quality Hispanic Engineers and Technical Talent”… Ricardo Alamillo states, “I will begin my studies this fall at one of the top 5 chemical engineering Ph. D. programs in the nation because of ‘the pipeline’ of mentorship and support of organizations like SHPE have established. I am where I am and who I am because of the networks and role models that I established along the ways as well the hard work ethics instilled in me and inspiration by parents and family.”

Alamillo began his SHPE involvement by attending our national conference as a freshman. Last year, Ricardo presented his technical poster “Heterogeneous catalysts for tandem alkane dehydrogenation and olefin metathesis” at SHPE 2009. He will begin graduate education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He had many choices for graduate school, including some of the nation’s top graduate programs for chemical engineering (Purdue University, University of Delaware, Northwestern University and Stanford University). Following his interest in green technologies and renewable energies, he will continue working in heterogeneous catalysis with specific applications to biofuels at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Alamillo graduated with high honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a B.S. in chemical engineering.

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Omar De Leon, National Graduate Representative, and past Region VII Student Representative, was selected among six of the top students at the University of Miami to be the Student Commencement Speaker for the graduating class of over 2500 students. He graduated first in his environmental engineering class at the University of Miami, where he earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering and a B.S. in Environmental Engineering. He is currently pursuing a graduate degree in those fields at Carnegie Mellon University.
Omar is another outstanding example of the potential of Hispanic youth in the USA. The future of the Hispanic community and the United States is riding on the continued success of Hispanic youth such as Omar. As SHPE National President, I am confident when I say that we are very proud of Omar!!

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When was the last time you heard that? Usually, the news is about gang violence or drop out rates. Mauro Rodriguez is a former SHPE Region 6 RSR. He was admitted to five top mechanical engineering graduate programs at MIT, CalTech, UI, UC Berkeley and Stanford. He will attend Stanford in the fall. That is truly a success story. A story that should be shared among our college and high school chapters. We, as an organization, need to make every effort to dispel the notion that Hispanics cannot achieve; that the only news about them is negative; that their only contribution to the country is their multi-billon dollar spending capacity. I challenge every member in SHPE to share this story and others like it with our members via Facebook, Twitter, or whatever other social media outlet you choose. We need to point out these successes so we do not fall prey to the popular representation of Hispanics in the media. Hispanics are the future and the hope of this country. Let’s make sure we do not forget that fact.

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