Mission: Helping Mexican Students Thrive.
Vision: No more students in Mexico dropping out of school due to lack of food, mentorship or counseling
In 2020 our President, Rafael Hernandez, decided to formalize his continued efforts in Mexico to help students graduate college. He reached out to people equally passionate about helping achieve this mission to form our Board of Directors. Kerrnandez is a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Kerrnandez accepts donations from our community to purchase internet service, computers and phones, food and and other supplies (such as shoes and clothing) for our scholarship recipients for one calendar year. We also offer mentorship and English language classes for our students. Over the course of the year, students receive mentorship directly from Rafael, and the other board members. They are encouraged to apply for internships, many times for Salesforce-centric companies. After completing their year scholarship, students are still provided with mentorship and guidance as requested.
We strive to support our scholarship recipients in many ways to help them succeed and achieve their dreams.
All Kerrnandez board members donate their time to the foundation and are not paid for their service.
Rafael Hernandez (President) is a 21x Certified Systems and Applications Architect and aspiring Certified Technical Architect. He holds a Bachelor’s in Software Engineering, an MBA and a Master’s in technology, and also just earned a BA in Psychology. He is currently a Specialist Leader (Senior Manager) at Deloitte and has been working in the Salesforce ecosystem for the last 9 years as a Salesforce Technical Architect and Developer. He was awarded Salesforce MVP recognition in 2020. Rafael is also a published author of the book: ¡Soy adulto! (¿ahora qué?) which concentrates on inspiring young adults in Latin America to work hard to succeed. In 2014, Rafael became a citizen of the US. In his free time, he often travels to Mexico uplifting new Salesforce talent through conferences and mentorship. Since 2017, he has taught two accredited Salesforce classes at the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán in Mérida Yucatán, Mexico.
In 2020, he officially founded Kerrnandez.org, a nonprofit to help students in Mexico graduate from college while starting and succeed in their careers.
Helen Hadji (Vice President ) has been in the IT industry for more than 20 years. Along with earning 3 ITIL certifications, she holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. Currently, she leads a department of IT engineers at a Denver-based IT Managed Service Provider. Helen is a natural leader, builder and integrator, and she enjoys analyzing current processes and working collaboratively toward constant improvement and automation. Previously, she managed an IT department for a health insurance provider in Colorado, which is where she met Rafael. After working with Rafa, witnessing his passion and constant drive to push himself to succeed in anything he tried; then learning his life story and the path he had walked, she was inspired to help him study for his Citizenship exam. She was honored to attend the Citizenship ceremony with him, and that day, she was inspired to help others like Rafa who showed the same passion to succeed. Helen helps Kerrnandez with business guidance, leadership, and student mentorship.
Mairead Kerr (Treasurer) immigrated from Northern Ireland to the United States and started her career in the finance sector, at some point she decided to focus her energy on herself, meditation, nutrition and wellness, She currently works in HR for a Colorado based company and helps Kerrnandez ensure that wellness and nutrition are part of our students goals, while keeping an eye on expenses and donations.
Maria D. Garcia (Secretary) was born and raised Mexico, she is passionate about helping people in general, she plays a key role helping the students with communication and learning English.
