José M. Hernández wanted to fly into space ever since he was a young boy. One of four children, he grew up in a migrant farming family from Mexico. One evening, after telling his Dad he wanted to be an astronaut, his father sat him down at the family kitchen table and shared the leadership essentials he would need to make it into space. Years later, after being turned down eleven times for astronaut training by NASA, Hernández was selected to be a NASA astronaut and flew into space at age 47. “To think a mere 30 years or so, I was picking fruits and vegetables,” he said.

At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, he worked on the X-ray laser project and co-developed the first full-field digital mammography system for the earlier detection of breast cancer. He represented U.S. Department of Energy on Russian nuclear non-proliferation issues. Today, José is the CEO of Tierra Luna Engineering. He founded the José M. Hernández Reaching for the Stars Foundation. Their mission is “to inspire youth to find passion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education, establish a family commitment to education, and develop a support network through community engagement.”

José owns a 20 acre vineyard near Lodi, California, near the fields his father worked in and where José’s dreams began taking shape. Dr. Hernandez holds a Master’s of Science from University of California, Santa Barbara and has been honored with eight Doctorate Degrees. His life story is the subject of the movie biopic A Million Miles Away. He is married to his wife, Adela and has five children.