Norlan Hernandez, Ph.D.

• M.B.A., University of California, Irvine – Paul Merage School of Business, 2025
• Ph.D., Intercultural Studies, Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola University, 2022
  Dissertation: Contextual Theology: Understanding how Nicaraguan Christian Leaders Construct Their Theology
• M.A., Theology, Graduate School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, 2017
• B.A., Liberal Studies, California State University, Los Angeles, 2015

I teach at Fresno Pacific University because I believe education has the power to transform lives and strengthen communities. As a first-generation college graduate myself, I deeply value FPU’s unique student body, where so many students are the first in their families to pursue higher education. I understand both the challenges and the opportunities that come with that journey, and I am committed to helping students succeed academically, professionally, and personally.

I am especially passionate about preparing the next generation of business leaders, entrepreneurs, and changemakers who will make a meaningful impact in their workplaces and communities. My goal is to create a learning environment where students are challenged, supported, and inspired to lead with excellence, integrity, and purpose.

Additional Information

Dr. Norlan Hernández Blandón is a proud Nica/Nicoya — terms used to describe someone with Nicaraguan roots. He is the proud father to Aella Mia and husband to Isabel.

He is the founder and president of Faithful Teachings, Inc., a nonprofit organization that aims to be a catalyst through partnerships with local faith-based communities on holistic initiatives for the transformation of society in Latin America. He is also CEO and Lead Consultant at Empowerfy Consulting, a consulting firm that provides a high-impact, research-based, data-driven and culturally informed approach to professional development.

Dr. Hernández Blandón also serves as the Associate Provost of Engagement and Inclusive Teaching and Learning (aka Chief Diversity Officer) at Fresno Pacific University. His previous roles include being the Director of the Jesse Miranda Center for Hispanic Leadership at Vanguard University, leading a corporate training team that served an international audience and leading teams of higher education professionals who pioneered institutional efforts in creating an infrastructure to support fully online undergraduate and graduate students.

Dr. Hernández Blandón has presented and published on various leadership topics. He contributed a chapter entitled “Identity, Intersectionality, and Leadership: Leading While Brown” included in Ludmila Praslova’s book Evidence-Based Organizational Practices for Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity. He has published in academic journals, which include “A double paradox: Servant leadership and gender scripts in the Latin American context” in the Theology of Leadership Journal and “‘You Hide Pieces of Yourself’: Navigating White Spaces as U.S. Missionaries of Color” published in Transformation. Dr. Hernández Blandón is also a part of the Publisher’s Circle at Hispanic Executive, where he has published articles entitled “The Art and Responsibility of Leading as a Latino” and “Embodying Brown Leadership in Predominantly White Institutions.” He is also the author of Pursuing Self: Body, Mind, Spirit, which presents a set of poems that speak to the lived experience of a hyphenated identity.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies with an emphasis on culture and society from California State University, Los Angeles, a Master of Arts in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies from Biola’s Cook School of Intercultural Studies and an Executive MBA from UCI’s Paul Merage School of Business. His research interests include Latin American identity, theology, contextualization, leadership, justice and inclusive excellence.

In his free time, he enjoys exercising, spending time outdoors with his wife Isabel and daughter Aella Mia, reading and watching movies and documentaries.

• Hernández, N. (2025). “How to Create Pathways for Unity and Progress.” Hispanic Executive.
• Hernández, N. (2025). “DEIB is About People, Not Political Agendas.” Hispanic Executive.
• Hernández, N. (2023). “Identity, Intersectionality, and Leadership: Leading While Brown.” In Praslova, L. N. (Ed.), Evidence-Based Organizational Practices for Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity (pp. 324–340). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
• Hernández, N. (2023). “The Art and Responsibility of Leading as a Latino.” Hispanic Executive.
• Huang, L. A., & Blandón, N. J. H. (2023). “‘You Hide Pieces of Yourself’: Navigating White Spaces as U.S. Missionaries of Color.” Transformation.
• Hernández, N. (2023). Pursuing Self: Body. Mind. Spirit. Empowerfy Consulting, LLC.
• Hernández, N. (2022). “Embodying Brown Leadership in Predominantly White Institutions.” Hispanic Executive.
• Hernandez, N., & Harris, L. (2022). “Theological Education in and for Black and Brown Communities.” Christian Higher Education, 21(5), 358–376.
• Hernandez, N. (2021). “Nurturing the tenets of Latin American Evangelical Ecclesiology.” Journal of Latin American Theology, 16(1), 111–148.
• Hernández, N. (2019). “A double paradox: Servant leadership and gender scripts in the Latin American context.” Theology of Leadership Journal, 2(1), 38–55.