Energize and inspire your team with fresh perspectives.

Michael Hernandez is an in-demand international speaker and award-winning author. His keynotes inspire audiences with fresh perspectives, surprising solutions, and actionable strategies grounded in experience and research. Clients include Apple, PBS, and National Geographic, and he has been a featured speaker at SXSW EDU, ISTE, ASCD, NJECC, VSTE and more.

Keynote topics for leadership

Decision Velocity: Moving Fast Without Breaking What Matters
There are those who embrace change and those who resist it. But what’s the right speed for innovation while staying true to your values, goals, and stakeholders?
Plot Twist: Leading Through Uncertainty When the Script Keeps Changing
In a world without maps, it's more important than ever to have a compass that guides your organization. Knowing what to focus on and how to predict the future are now key leadership skills. Learn how to maintain personal and institutional vision, avoid distractions, and stay focused on what matters most.

Keynote topics for educators

Uncheatable: Authentic Assessment in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence has everyone worried about academic integrity and the future of school. In this inspiring keynote, Michael helps us rethink the purpose of assessment, and provides the mindsets and strategies educators and leaders need to design cheat-resistant assignments and cultures that foster integrity, trust, purpose, and joy.

Your Class Might Be Obsolete. Why That's the Best News Ever
Teaching is harder than ever, especially in these rapidly changing times. For many, change feels like an existential threat, leaving us wondering about our purpose and feeling stranded personally and professionally. But change can also afford us the chance to finally do what educators have been wanting all along: be trusted experts that have agency and flexibility to design human-centered learning experiences. In this inspiring talk, award-winning classroom teacher and author Michael Hernandez shares experiences, research, and practical strategies that help educators manage change, and learn how to view these challenges as opportunities rather than obstacles to rewarding teaching and learning.
Think Again: Reimagining Education In A Changing World 
Rapid changes in technology and the social/political landscape can be stressful for teachers to navigate, leaving many of us wanting to go back to the basics. Award-winning educator Michael Hernandez helps educators, parents, and school leaders find opportunity in change, and sees it as a chance to remember what matters most in education: curiosity, inquiry, imagination, and the profound responsibility we have to prepare the next generation for the challenges they’ll face in the future.

The Radical Gift of Choice: Leveraging Agency for Teacher & Student Success
Student engagement is at all time lows and chronic absenteeism is at all-time highs. But how can we get students to show up physically and intellectually, and encourage them to complete their assignments with integrity? In this inspiring talk, award-winning teacher and author Michael Hernandez shows how agency and independence are the secrets to academic and personal success, and strategies to leverage these mindsets to create school cultures where everyone wants to show up and be their best.  

Why We Teach: Reclaiming Joy in the Work That Matters Most
Being an educator these days can feel like we’re here to just plug the holes in a leaking dike. But what happens when we’re all out of fingers? In a world where educators are overwhelmed with work and face increasing internal and external challenges, award-winning teacher and author Michael Hernandez helps us remember what matters most in education, and help us find purpose and joy in teaching.
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Michael moderates panel discussions with filmmaker Ken Burns, and MacArthur Fellow Jason Reynolds.

Previous events

KEYNOTES
VSTE. Virginia Beach, VA.
Mississippi Whole Schools state conference, Hattiesburg, MS.
Illinois Multilingual Conference. Chicago.
NJECC. New Jersey
reThink Learning conference. Singapore.
EDU conference. Monterrey, Mexico.
Think Ahead conference, Johannesburg, South Africa. 
UTIS conference. Iceland.

LARGE EVENTS & PANELS
Ken Burns panel discussion: Moderator. NCSS national social studies conference. Boston.
PBS National Leadership Conference. Chicago.
ISTE Live National Conference. Featured speaker, mainstage. San Antonio, New Orleans.
SXSW EDU. Austin.
What audiences are saying about Michael

​"Extremely authentic and motivational!"

"Michael is awesome!! Extremely knowledgable and he motivated everyone in the room."

"A mind shift in how we approach assessment in the classroom, and [he] gave great ideas and frameworks for thinking."

"We value his ability to integrate his classroom experience with his extensive knowledge of tech and its power to personalize learning for students of all ages. He is an exceptional storyteller and talented speaker."

"We need these types of ideas these days, with all that is happening in education."