The Partnership—which serves as a chamber of commerce and economic development firm for the Humble, Kingwood and Atascocita areas—was initially established in April 1923.

In an interview with Community Impact, Hernandez shared some insights on how he transitioned to his new role with Partnership Lake Houston and what the nonprofit offers to local businesses and businesses seeking to relocate to the area.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What has your career history looked like prior to joining Partnership Lake Houston?

Growing up as a young man, I had a brother who was on city council for about 14 years, and he volunteered me all over the place. Shortly after I graduated, I was asked to fill the position of CEO for the San Marcos Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and it went really well. I went on to work for Target [as a recruiter], but I really missed the chamber work, so I came back and became the president and CEO of the Kyle Area Chamber of Commerce. ... I later had the opportunity to go to North Texas, so I became the CEO of the Lewisville Area Chamber of Commerce where I covered the huge space of Lewisville, Flower Mound, Denton and Farmers Branch. [After] I left there, I became a full-time consultant with JL Powers and Associates, but I really missed the chamber work again, so I came back to it and became the CEO of the Huntsville Walker County Chamber of Commerce.

What are some of your biggest accomplishments thus far?

The thing I'm most passionate about is making positive, generational change in a community—not change just to change, but impacting a community in a positive way generationally. ... In 2009, the Buda Chamber [of Commerce] and the Kyle [Area Chamber of Commerce] came together to help facilitate bringing Austin Community College to northern Hays County. ... When I was in Huntsville, some folks came to us and told us the school district was in pretty bad shape. Facility wise, there was a middle school where the auditorium hadn't been used in six years. It was in such bad shape, it was condemned. ... We got a good collection of people from every part of the community together [to help put together a bond package]—folks with money, folks without money, educated, uneducated, with kids, without kids. ... It had been 23 years since the district’s last bond election, and we passed two bond propositions during the same election. One passed with almost 72% [of voters approving the measure] and the other one with almost 78%.

How has your prior experience helped lead you to where you are today?

I think it’s just really the culmination of all of my experiences—San Marcos, Kyle, Lewisville, Huntsville—they're all very different communities. To me, it’s about perspective. ... If you want to find a solution, you have to bring in people with diverse perspectives, whether you agree with those perspectives or not. The solution is going to be there somewhere. More than anything, I know I'm humble enough to know that I don't have the answer, but I also know the answer exists here already. There are people in this community who can help us, who can lend a hand with their time and talent, to help us continue to move this community forward.

From an economic development standpoint, what are some of the Lake Houston area’s biggest needs right now?

One of the challenges that we have—and it's not unique to us—is that we have to continue to educate our elected officials and our partners in the area for economic development about the tools that are available to solicit and retain good projects. There might be a project in Pennsylvania or Indiana that's looking [to relocate], and many times we're looking at different tools and incentives [to recruit them]. They could go just about anywhere, so we're looking for partnerships with the city, the county, the state of Texas and the federal government. We have those opportunities, so it's incumbent on us to continue to educate elected officials and partners about the use of tools that can better serve our community and can help us solicit and retain the type of business that we want here.

How will you help make the Lake Houston area more attractive to prospective businesses?

I think it’s already attractive to businesses, and it's incumbent on us to continue to do good marketing. ... We're perfectly positioned in the northeastern quadrant of Harris County. Our service area abuts the International Airport. We have I-69. We have I-45. We have the Grand Parkway. We have Generation Park. We have amenities like Lake Houston. We have an educated workforce. ... We need to make sure that people in Atlanta, Georgia, people in Michigan and right here at home understand those attributes. Sometimes, we lose sight of the fantastic environment we have, because we see it every day. The chamber is in a unique position. ... We have access to [railroads]. We have access to the Port of Houston. Those are huge, huge elements that really make this community attractive.