Manny Hernandez for SHPE President 2011/2013

Tomorrow is the last day to choose a new SHPE President. Your vote will decide the destiny of SHPE, and therefore, the destiny of many Latinos in our country. Why am I so convinced of it?

Let me tell you my own story, not unlike that of many Hispanics. In fact, this is one that I hear time after time. Having been raised in a poor Puerto Rican family in NY, the school system had already decided that I would be a mechanic, a construction worker, or if lucky, a print shop operator, but no more. I did not know any better, my parents did not know any better, and we thought it was good. It must have been, right? It was the US school system!

Luckily, the chairman of the math department saw something in me and got me out of vocational shops and put me through all the math and science classes. With enthusiasm and in earnest I took all the courses I could and did not stop until graduating with a master’s degree. I have been a successful engineer for more than 30 years, have worked in many exciting projects, and have been trusted with national defense responsibilities. But just the same, I could have ended up very short of this, had it not been for the one person who made a difference in my life.

That was more than 30 years ago and you would have thought that our school system would have seen the light by now. Not really. Just a few years ago, my daughter was being steered towards home economic classes so that she would assume her rightful place in the kitchen. This did not sit well with me as you can imagine so of course I prevented this from happening. She went on to graduate third in her class and today she holds a masters degree. I was lucky, and that made my daughter lucky, but most Hispanic kids are not.

That is what SHPE is all about. We have a network of people that make a difference to each other and we make a difference to our kids. Each of us can change someone’s history and by it, everyone else around them.

You, with your vote, can change history, and you can choose to help SHPE change the history of many Latinos, by helping hundreds of thousands of Hispanic students and professionals to be the top engineers they deserve to be. That is my vision and my plan.

If you have not done it yet, please cast your vote.

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By Manny Hernandez

As the conclusion of the SHPE elections approach, my stress level increases. Some of my friends try to help me but they do not seem to understand my worries and to be honest, it’s been hard to express them. On the surface, they think that my worries are about losing the election and they try to convince me that IF I were to lose this election I would win.

I would win more time and freedom to do the many things I have been postponing in my life, such as spending more time with my friends and family, riding my motorcycle, more skiing, playing more racquetball, and reading the pile of books I have not had a chance to.

Their words have no effect on me. So what is it then? Digging deeper I was able to find the right words. It was like finally finding a long sought piece in a difficult puzzle.

I am very worried about the future of SHPE. I realized that even after all the 20 plus years of work that I have put in to tryto  make it the great organization that it is, with all its faults, and all the great things that she offers us, there is a lot more to be done.

SHPE has done a lot for tens of thousands or people, but I know in my heart that it can do the same for hundreds of thousands of people. We can create the best Latino engineers and scientist in the nation. We ourselves can become the best engineers and scientists in the nation. But each of us cannot do it alone. We need SHPE. We need a stronger SHPE. We need her to be all that she can be.

My worry is that this bright future could be at risk.

Many of us have devoted a lifetime to this organization. We have carefully chosen the right strategies, the right governance models, the right problems to work on, and we have made the tough unpopular decisions, all with great results. Yet, a lot more remains to be done.

We have got momentum. Lots of changes are needed, yes but we cannot and should not go back to the dark days. I have lived through them and it would be a sin, even if unintentionally. While I respect the ideas and enthusiasm of my peer candidates, I am not convinced that they understand how easy it is to repeat the mistakes of our past.

Someone wise once said: “Those who do not know history are destined to repeat it”. I care too much for SHPE to see this happen.

Help me build the future of SHPE forward, not back.

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By Melissa Villegas Drake

Please VOTE for Manny Hernandez!

The position of National President is the most challenging and critical position within SHPE.  I know this from personal experience having served as national president myself, 1995-1997.  SHPE is a much more complex organization today than when I was president.  The challenges are greater. The issues are more intricate and the solutions more elusive.

Manny Hernandez is the best candidate for SHPE President.

I met Manny Hernandez when I was serving as a committee chair for SHPE in the 1990’s and was immediately impressed by his commitment to the organization.  Manny has served SHPE in many capacities and has made SHPE a part of his life.  He believes strongly in what the organization promotes:  “Better Opportunities for Hispanic engineers”.  I have seen first-hand Manny’s growth as a leader within the organization.  He is without a doubt the best candidate for SHPE National President.  He is ready to lead.

One of Manny’s major focus areas is the SHPE National conference which he has championed, and has chaired over the last 20 years, including the SHPE 2009 conference, the most successful SHPE conference to date.  The SHPE national conference is our premier event and has enjoyed great success under Manny’s leadership over these years.  The national conference has the most impact on our membership, new and existing, as well as our corporate partners in that it serves as a showcase for our best Hispanic technical talent.  With Manny as National President, I am certain our conference will continue to enjoy great success.

Manny’s other passion has been the establishment of professional development programs.  He has championed these efforts longer than any other director on the national board.  Several SHPE members have attributed their career advancement to skills acquired and honed in these programs.  SHPE’s offering of these types of professional development programs has resulted in increased professional membership.  SHPE must continue to offer these programs for our member’s future career growth.  Manny is the only candidate that will make this a priority for SHPE.

Melissa Villegas Drake
Past National SHPE President
Lifetime Member
Tolleson Union High School Junior SHPE Chapter Advisor

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Why have I got a blog post title with two seemingly unrelated terms?  Very simple.  The Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers, or SHPE, has been innovating with new types of programs, like SHPE’s Executive Leadership Institute and other professional development programs as I outlined here in an earlier article. The problem is the word is not getting out to non-members.

SHPE members receive the newsletters and the updates.   Latino Engineers who are NOT SHPE members make up a much larger number of Latino Engineers than actual SHPE members.

How do we bridge the gap?

Social Media.

One of my goals as President of SHPE is to build on the grassroots efforts of many SHPE members who have started blogs and Facebook groups, and to implement a concerted, integrated effort for SHPE to reach out to non-members to get the word out about what SHPE can offer to enhance their careers.

This graphic, put out by Forrester, explains very well how the corporate demographic that we need to go after is already actively involved in Social Media:

Our target demographic already uses social media extensively.  Creators, or people who create blogs or Facebook groups, make up 43% of corporate America. Joiners, or people who join social networks such as LinkedIn or Facebook, make up 48%.  A whopping 91% are spectators, meaning they read blogs!!!

I believe the time is ripe for SHPE to actively engage in a conversation via the various social media tools out there, whether Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs, and even our own social media applications as I mentioned earlier.  This effort would enable us to reach out to Latino engineering professionals who are not members and inform them about these innovative leadership programs.

Why do this?  Well the self-interested answer would be to gain new members.  The correct answer is to empower the larger Hispanic community, and our particular niche, Hispanic engineers. As our vision states:

SHPE is the leading social-technical organization whose primary function is to enhance and achieve the potential of Hispanics in engineering, math and science.

Social Media is also a very powerful way to receive feedback from the community.  The SHPE corporate website, a must-have, is a one-way conversation: the organization talking to the public.  Social Media enables a two way conversation.  It empowers independent thinking, as this blog, and other election blog represents.  It can also be a place to air grievances, something which SHPE should not shy away from, but should embrace as we move forward and change to provide more value to Latino engineering professionals.

What do you think?  How should SHPE get the word out to non-members about some of our valuable programs?  Should we launch headlong into Social Media? I welcome your thoughts.

Manny Hernandez

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