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Dr. Maria Hernandez is available for speaking engagements virtually or in person. She has been both a presenter and a panel presenter at major conferences and for corporate events throughout the nation. Her most popular talk is The Accidental Entrepreneur: How One Very Smart Latina Side-Lined the Glass Ceiling. This talk is ideal for motivating Latinas to overcome challenges they encounter in the workplace and set their own path to success—even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone.
Maria is a dynamic and engaging speaker who taps into her 20 years experience as a consultant to inform and inspire her audiences. She has consulted to Fortune 100 companies, public entities, foundations and non profits. A native Spanish speaker, she has also consulted in Mexico for a technology accelerator, with joint ventures in the US and Mexico, focused on call center development. A talented facilitator and strategist, Maria supports executive project teams to insure goals are aligned with strategy and managed effectively. She partners with senior leaders responsible for large scale change initiatives, professional development or diversity awareness programs to provide strategic and content expertise.
A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Maria completed her doctorate in community psychology at age 26. She is both a Danforth Fellow and an American Psychological Association Minority Fellow. She began her career in academic administration at a private liberal arts college in Northern California. After 8 years teaching and managing cultural outreach programs on campus, she transitioned to a full-time consulting practice. Within the year she was voted Outstanding Hispanic Entrepreneur by the Northern California Region of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. Between 2008 and 2010 Maria was Managing Director of Western Region for Global Lead, LLC when they acquired her firm. In July 2010, Global Lead merged with Novations and Maria resumed her Northern California independent consulting practice.
Maria is the author of Latina Cubicle Confidential™ now published in New Latina, Latina Lista, iHispano, and Silicon Valley Latino. Additionally, Maria has provided regular commentaries to the Perspective Series of KQED FM in San Francisco and occasionally to Latino USA of Public Radio International. She has also written a column for Latina Style on careers and business and has been quoted in Forbes ASAP. Maria is a past or present member of the following organizations: LinkSV Empowered Partners in Consulting (EPIC), Forum for Women Entrepreneurs-Silicon Valley, and Association for Women in Technology and the American Psychological Association.
Additional Speaking Topics Available from Dr. Hernandez
Sustaining Your Success: Achieving Beyond Your Goals
Latinas as Leaders: The Cultural Values that Drive Us to Succeed
Navigating Around Bullies, Bigots, and Buffoons: There All Out There Waiting for You
For more information, please call 510.550.7179 or complete the contact form to the right.