Nicole Hernández Hammer ( Hernández Estrada; born 1975) is a Guatemalan

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States aft ...

sea-level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

researcher,

climate scientist Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "slope"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. Climate concerns the atmospheric ...

, and environmental-justice advocate, known for her work on the disproportionate impact of climate change on low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

Early life and education

Nicole Hernández Estrada was born in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

to a Guatemalan mother, María Eugenia Estrada Nicolle, and a Cuban-American father, Óscar Gonzalo Hernández-Cano, a

pulmonologist Pulmonology (, , from Latin ''pulmō, -ōnis'' "lung" and the Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language fam ...

. Hernández has two younger brothers, the actor

Oscar Isaac Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is an American actor. Recognized for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino characters in Cinema of the United States, H ...

and Mike, a journalist. As an infant, Hernández's family home in

Guatemala City Guatemala City (, also known colloquially by the nickname Guate), is the Capital city, national capital and largest city of the Guatemala, Republic of Guatemala. It is also the Municipalities of Guatemala, municipal capital of the Guatemala Depa ...

was destroyed by the

1976 Guatemala earthquake The 1976 Guatemala earthquake struck on February 4 at with a moment magnitude of 7.5. The shock was centered on the Motagua Fault, about 160 km northeast of Guatemala City at a depth of near the town of Los Amates in the department of ...

. The family later moved to the

El Quiché EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

as part of Hernández's father medical training. In 1979, the family migrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

so that Hernández's father could complete medical residency. The family lived in

Randallstown Randallstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Christopher and Thomas Randall, two 18th-century tavern-keepers. At that time, Randallstown was a tollgate cr ...

near

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, followed by

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, before settling in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. In 1992,

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a compact, but very powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures dama ...

destroyed the family's Miami home. Hernández attended the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

and earned a bachelor's degree in integrated natural sciences. Hernández then studied for a

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

in biology at

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

, and a

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

in finance at

Palm Beach Atlantic University Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA) is a private nondenominational Christian university in West Palm Beach, Florida. PBA's nine colleges focus on the liberal arts with a select collection of professional studies. In 2024, PBA's undergraduat ...

Career

Hernández worked in academia for 15 years before turning to advocacy and public outreach. Hernández taught at both the Florida Atlantic University and University of Southern Florida, and was the deputy director of the Florida Center for Environmental Studies at Florida Atlantic University.

Advocacy and public outreach

Hernández credits her mother Eugenia for instilling in her the need to protect the environment, and her upbringing in Southern Florida for her interest in analyzing the interplay between climate change and Hispanic communities. Hernández's advocacy focuses on how

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

disproportionately affects communities of color and low-income communities, and how

sea level rise The sea level has been rising from the end of the last ice age, which was around 20,000 years ago. Between 1901 and 2018, the average sea level rose by , with an increase of per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had e ...

disproportionately affects Latino populations. In 2012, Hernández was appointed the Florida Coastal Expert for the

Union of Concerned Scientists The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is a nonprofit science advocacy organization based in the United States. The UCS membership includes many private citizens in addition to professional scientists. Anne Kapuscinski, Professor of Environment ...

, and later the Southeast Climate Science and Community Advocate. Hernández worked to make climate science more accessible to Latino communities. In 2013, Hernández contributed to the Southeast Climate Consortium (SECC) regional technical input report on the climate of the Southeast United States, for the Third National Climate Assessment. Hernánde was the Florida field manager for Moms Clean Air Force, and advocated for pollution regulation and children's health. In 2015, Hernández was invited to the

State of the Union Address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condit ...

by First Lady

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...

to spread awareness about climate change and its effects on communities of color. The same year, Hammer presented

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

a report on climate change's effects in Florida, yet she was allegedly instructed by his administration to remove all mention of climate change (which he denies). In 2016, Hammer attended the Climate March and spoke to several news networks on how important research funding from the government is for tracking the changes of the earth from climate change. In June 2016, Hernández spoke at the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

about how climate change is an immediate concern for the country through the effects of rising sea levels on vulnerable Latino communities. She communicated direct immediate actions the government can take to relieve the stresses of rising sea levels and pollution on Latino communities. In 2017, Hernández was on the panel for

Amy Poehler's Smart Girls Amy Poehler's Smart Girls is an organization and website aimed at helping young women with life's problems in a funny and informative way. It was founded by actress Amy Poehler, Executive Director Meredith Walker, who was the former senior producer ...

, and spoke about the disproportionate impacts of climate change on communities of color. In 2020, Hernández became an environmental scientist at UPROSE, a Latino

community-based organization Community organization or community based organization refers to organization aimed at making desired improvements to a community's social health, well-being, and overall functioning. Community organization occurs in geographically, psychosocially ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. The same year Hernández was a guest lecturer at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

. Hernández was a presenter at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ 2020 virtual series on COVID-19, climate, environment and health. Hernández previously worked as a project director for the Clean Energy State Alliance (CESA).

Honors and awards

In 2022, Hernández was awarded the

Carnegie Corporation of New York The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Since its founding, the Carnegie Corporation has endowed or othe ...

's Great Immigrant Award.

Personal life

Hernández lives in

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

with her husband and son.

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez Hammer, Nicole Florida Atlantic University alumni Palm Beach Atlantic University alumni University of South Florida alumni American climatologists American women climatologists American women environmentalists American environmentalists American people of Guatemalan descent American people of Cuban descent Guatemalan people of Cuban descent Florida Democrats Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 1970s births