Mike’s Monday Message: Elevating Impact: A Keynote That’s Out of This World
AFP ICON 2025 is all about "Elevating Impact"—pushing boundaries, reaching new heights, and coming together to overcome challenges. So, who better to launch this year’s conference than astronaut and aerospace engineering consultant, José M. Hernández, the opening keynote speaker for AFP ICON 2025!
The son of Mexican migrant farmworkers, José grew up working the fields alongside his family, moving from town to town, spending half of the year in California, and half the year in La Piedad, Michoacán, Mexico. He didn’t learn English until he was 12 years old, but he was a dedicated high school student, participating in Upward Bound, a federally funded program to help kids from disadvantaged backgrounds prepare for higher education. He became the first of his family to attend college, graduating with a B.S. in electrical engineering and an M.S. in electrical and computer engineering (and eventually earning 7 honorary doctorate degrees). He spent the early part of his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, where he contributed to the development of a space deployed X-Ray laser, and assisted in the development of digital mammography imaging technology that aids in the early detection of breast cancer. In 2001, Hernández joined the Johnson Space Center in Houston to pursue his lifelong dream—to become an astronaut.
That dream didn’t come easy. NASA rejected his application for astronaut training eleven times over the course of three years. But José refused to give up. On his twelfth attempt, José was selected as a member of NASA’s 19th class of astronauts, completing his Astronaut Candidate Training in 2006. In 2009, he flew as the flight engineer in the 14-day STS-128 mission aboard Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station, making history as the first person to use the Spanish language in space while tweeting.
Hernández’s story is about passion, commitment, and perseverance. As fundraisers, we know a thing or two about perseverance. We face challenges, setbacks, a lack of resources—but we also know the impact that perseverance can have on the world. José’s story will remind us all of the importance of pushing forward, dreaming big, and never letting obstacles stand in our way.
Plus, he is no stranger to fundraising. Beyond his achievements in space, José also ventured into the political arena, running for the U.S. House of Representatives in California's 10th District in 2012. Although he did not win the election, this experience provided him with first-hand insight into the challenges and intricacies of fundraising—a journey many of us are all too familiar with.
You can learn more about José before AFP ICON by watching the 2023 Amazon Prime biopic, A Million Miles Away.
We hope you’ll join us in Seattle, April 27-29, to hear José’s incredible keynote and kick off AFP ICON 2025 with a powerful message of determination and possibility. If you haven’t registered yet, make sure you register before March 21st to get the Emerald Rate discount!