Guiding D & M Leasing in Dallas - Fort Worth, Micheal “Mike” Albert Hernandez III is a longtime automotive leasing executive who built up one of the leading auto leasing companies nationwide. With family roots in the Gulf Coast city of Brownsville, Mike Hernandez III has focused on boosting the region’s social services and economic potential through the political action committee OP10.33. One recent bright spot in the local tech sphere has been the seaside community of Boca Chica Beach. It is situated east of Brownsville and was selected in 2014 as the rocket development and launch site for SpaceX. Elon Musk’s space transportation company is currently on work on “Starship Hopper,” a craft that is intended to fly around the moon before ultimately being used for manned flights to Mars. With the facility having been expanded throughout 2018 to include fuel tanks, a solar array, tacking antennas, and a temporary hanger, work began on a prototype just before Christmas. Capable of non-orbital vertical takeoff, the prototype has three liquid-oxygen/methane-powered Raptor engines and is involved in testing toward planned June completion of an orbital Starship with 31 Raptor engines. As reported in the Brownsville Herald, a former Brownsville Economic Development Council executive described this history-making project as representing “a big win for Texas and the Rio Grande Valley.”
With his roots in Brownsville, Mike Hernandez III has enjoyed professional success as the founder and CEO of D & M Leasing, a Dallas-Fort Worth-based company. Committed to philanthropic efforts that positively impact the community, Micheal Albert Hernandez III donates to multiple non-profit organizations, including the St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVDP) of North Texas.Among its many programs serving the community, SVDP of North Texas provides an after-school tutoring and mentoring program for K-8 students called StudyTime. In addition to eating a nutritious snack, students receive help with their homework as well as reading, writing, math, and socio-emotional skills from experienced staff members and volunteers. The program incorporates technology and strives to keep a low student-to-facilitator ratio.Running from September to May, StudyTime serves nearly 100 students each year at locations including Santa Clara of Assisi church and SVDP thrift stores in Dallas and Plano. Donations in support of StudyTime are gladly accepted. Learn more details about the afterschool youth program by calling 214-520-0650 Ext. 113 or emailing studytime@svdpdallas.org.
The CEO of the Dallas-Fort Worth area company D&M Leasing, Micheal (Mike) Albert Hernandez III is a native of Brownsville, Texas. A philanthropist who focuses his philanthropic energy on anti-poverty initiatives, Mike Hernandez III founded the OP 10.33 organization to help lift Cameron County, one of Texas’ poorest counties, out of a cycle of generational poverty. One of the proven ways to break the cycle of generational poverty is to provide increased access to preschool education and related services. Universal preschool advocates have estimated that each dollar spent on early childhood intervention saves communities eight dollars in the future on costs such as entitlements, education, and spending on Medicaid and other social services.In addition, participation in high-quality early childhood education programs has been associated with reduced risk for criminal activity and greater educational achievement, particularly for children from homes that struggle with poverty and food insecurity. High-quality preschool also increases future wages and college attendance rates. Given the benefits, it seems a clear necessity to fund greater access to high-quality preschool to reduce the effects of generational poverty.
