Jose Hernandez

Jose Hernandez is a former NASA astronaut, engineer, entrepreneur, and bestselling author whose remarkable journey from migrant farmworker to space traveler has inspired millions worldwide. Selected by NASA as a member of their 19th class of astronauts in 2004, he served as flight engineer on the 2009 STS-128 Space Shuttle Discovery mission to the International Space Station. His life story was depicted in the 2023 Amazon Prime biopic A Million Miles Away.

From the Fields to the Stars
Born into a Mexican migrant farming family, Jose did not learn English until age 12 and spent his childhood traveling California’s agricultural circuit picking strawberries, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Despite being rejected by NASA 11 times, he persevered – earning degrees in electrical engineering and spending over 15 years at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he co-developed the first full-field digital mammography system for early breast cancer detection. His determination and his parents’ unwavering focus on education fueled his lifelong dream of reaching space.

Inspiring Audiences to Reach for Their Own Stars
Jose is the author of Reaching for the Stars and founder of Tierra Luna Engineering, LLC, an aerospace consulting firm. He was also the first person to tweet from space in both English and Spanish. His keynotes empower audiences through stories of hard work and perseverance, sharing a practical recipe for success.

Jose’s presentations draw from his experiences in goal setting and overcoming impostor syndrome, making his message relevant for corporate, educational, and Hispanic Heritage Month audiences alike.

Reaching For Your Own Stars: A Recipe To Succeed In Life

Jose Hernandez’s talk is an effective motivational talk where individuals leave so inspired, they re-evaluate and upgrade their personal and professional goals in life. This is accomplished by empowering attendees through his anecdotal stories of hard work and perseverance. He shares a simple yet effective recipe that serves as an effective tool in the empowerment process.

• Reaching your full potential
• Dare to dream big when you are willing to work hard for it
• Jose shares his 6 ingredient recipe to success that lead him to his goal of becoming an Astronaut
• His conference leads to re-evaluation and upgrading of the audience’s goal

Leadership

Jose discusses how he developed his leadership and communication skills both as a social advocate in various community-based organizations and through experiences as he moved up through middle/senior management positions at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and NASA.

Entrepreneurship

Jose talks about his experiences as a businessman, from owning a restaurant to creating a successful aerospace consulting firm to being coming back to his roots as a vineyard farmer and developing his own line of wines.

Imposter Syndrome: How to Thrive in Today’s Challenging Environment

This talks centers around the subject of common to high achievers, people who break barriers and/or are “first in their family to achieve.” These achievements cause individuals to doubt their abilities to the point they feel like a fraud. It disproportionately affects people who break barriers and are one of the first in their families to have college graduate careers. They typically find it difficult to accept their accomplishments and many questions whether they’re deserving of recognition and accolades. Jose not only talks about the subject, but also discuss methods he used to overcome such feelings.

Technology

This talk centers around the importance of staying on the leading edge of technology and how it affects our everyday lives. It introduces the concept of disruptive technologies, how to identify and take advantage of them.