SHE Relatable Leaders Career Spotlight Journey

SHE Women’s Network Support Heal Empower

SHE | A Lean In Network | Support, Heal, Empower

March 1, 2026

The SHE Women’s Network Support Heal Empower is all about empowering, supporting and elevating our members, and inspiring future generations of female leaders. Across 2025 & 2026 we will spotlight the careers journeys of some of our amazing members. Today we hear from Alex Hernandez, MPA.

Becoming Seen: How Authenticity Became my Leadership Superpower

Alex Hernandez, Strategy & Transformation Leader | Senior Evaluation & Programme Manager, Health Innovation North West Coast | Charity Trustee | Co-Founder, Latin Americans in Health & Care UK Network

Originally from Mexico, Alex Hernandez, MPA extensive experience in healthcare policy, digital transformation, and innovation across the NHS and wider public sector. She is committed to advancing more inclusive, equitable, and effective health systems through strategic collaboration, lived experience, and rigorous evaluation. Alex is the co-founder of the Latin Americans in Health and Care UK Network, championing representation and leadership for underrepresented communities. She also serves as a Trustee at IRMO. Outside of work, Alex enjoys dancing and spending time with her young daughter.

Introduction

I work in digital health, specialising in engagement, equity, and system transformation. I am currently a Senior Evaluation Manager at Health Innovation North West Coast. I am also a Charity Trustee at the Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organization (IRMO), supporting Latin Americans to build fulfilled and integrated lives in the UK, and Co-Founder of the Latin Americans in Health and Care UK Network, empowering professionals, honouring our heritage, and fostering an inclusive community.

My career has spanned continents, sectors, and cultures — from Mexico City to London and Manchester, and from academia and consultancy to the NHS — always grounded in engagement, collaboration, and courageous leadership. I champion authenticity, lived experience, and bold conversations.

Early Career

My career began in the public sector in Mexico, where I first developed an interest in the intersection between policy, equity, and system change. A defining moment was my decision to move to the UK as the first in my family to build a life abroad. Those early years were filled with uncertainty, cultural adjustment, and learning how to navigate a system where I often had to work harder to be seen.

Studying and working while adapting to life far from my support network has been challenging, but it has strengthened my resilience, and belief in the value of stepping beyond what feels familiar. This became the foundation for my work today and my advocacy for people whose voices and experiences are overlooked.

Pivotal Moments

A defining moment in my journey was experiencing baby loss while far from my support network. It reshaped my understanding of vulnerability, grief, and the role of compassion. Another turning point was becoming a mother to my daughter, whose bilingual and bicultural world has deepened my belief in the power of belonging and the optimism we can place in future generations. I have learned that leadership is rarely forged in comfort; it is shaped by recognising our privilege, embracing moments that demand courage and empathy, and by begin again even when the path ahead feels uncertain.

Leadership Lessons

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is that authenticity is a form of strength. You don’t need to fit into a room that wasn’t designed with you in mind, sometimes your role is to redesign the room. And building an authentic network supports you in doing that.

I’ve also learned to trust my instincts: rational thinking matters, but so does what your body and heart are trying to tell you. Some relationships will be transformational, while others will be more transactional - and your instincts will help you navigate the difference. Finally, speaking up, asking difficult questions, and challenging the status quo are essential if we want systems to become fairer, braver, and more human.

Advice for Others

• Trust yourself more: Your background, values, and lived experience belong in every room you enter.

• Seek out the conversations you fear: Growth happens when you recognise your value and speak with self-compassion and gratitude.

• Grow intentionally: As Charlie Jones said, “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” Dr. Benjamin Hardy highlights that by choosing the people, experiences, and ideas we surround ourselves with, we expand what we notice, what we seek, and how we act. So be deliberate about your inputs — they shape your future self. I recommend the book: Be Your Future Self Now.

• Lead with influence, not hierarchy: Influence is about being grounded and supporting your community.

Leadership is a constant learning process, and my reflections would likely evolve if I wrote this again next year.

Closing Thought

Leadership is an act of care — for people, for communities, and for the future we choose to shape. My daughter inspires me to imagine a world where individuality is celebrated rather than feared, and where diverse voices aren’t included but centred. She reminds me that the decisions we make today ripple into the futures others will inherit.

A quote or some advice that you found valuable

One of the most meaningful pieces of advice I carry comes from Simon Sinek’s Leaders East Last: “Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.”

Another phrase that resonates with me is from Mexican poet and diplomat Rosario Castellanos: “We have to learn to name what hurts us, because silence does not save.”