AFTER 5 YEARS OF HEAVY LIFTING, HERNANDEZ'S OP 10.33 SHOWS RESULTS

By Juan Montoya
El Rrun-Rrun Staff

In 2021, Brownsville native Michael Albert Hernandez III (Mike Hernandez, for short) – a self-made millionaire who attended schools here – read news stories in the Houston Chronicle that since 2013 Brownsville had been named this city as the poorest in the United States.

Hernandez was outraged. 

How can his native city, a historical community along the U.S.-Mexico border with a deep-sea port, at least five international ports of entry, and with a growing young workforce – qualities which placed it among the most potentially economically dynamic sites in the state – earn the dubious place as the poorest in the  country?  Its uniqueness stands out as the only city besides San Diego, California, that lies on both the border and the sea.

Born and raised in Brownsville, Texas, Hernandez graduated from Texas A&M in College Station, and within years of graduation was an accomplished Dallas-Ft. Worth-area senior business executive and philanthropist. Since 1984, he had guided D & M Leasing as its Chief Executive Officer. Beyond his professional duties, Hernandez decided he would give back to the community in Cameron County through OP 10.33, a  501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. He semi-retired in 2011.

OP 10.33 PAC was specifically formed in 2021 as a political organization dedicated to lifting Brownsville out of poverty by October 2033. He was also a driving force behind V3 Army for the Good, the Cameron County Education Initiative (CCEI), and an array of educational and scholarship organizations.

OP 10.33, so named in reference to the county becoming the “land of opportunity by October 2033,” was launched to spearhead a well-coordinated effort to ensure every child in the local community is educated beyond a high school diploma. 

The CCEI helps students to implement degree plans at high schools, community colleges, and universities while offering aid to nonprofit trade schools and high-tech training programs, as well as boosting private-sector business growth.

To achieve its mandate, OP 10.33 relied on support in a variety of forms. Volunteers donate their time to providing social services, or share their talents to advance a positive cause. Monetary donations of any amount were also welcome, and transparent systems were put in place to enable donors to see how their money is spent. Other ways to provide support include running for political office, voicing support online, and highlighting the uniqueness of Brownsville.

By that time Elon Musk's SpaceX was just starting to carve out a place in its space complex on the mud flats off Boca Chica Beach. Its eventual rise was still in the future. Manufacturing jobs were few, and the workforce training levels were just getting off the ground. Hernandez identified these shortcomings and set to work to create a confluence of education, manufacturing and political will. 

But he knew that he couldn't do it alone. Appointed to the A&M Board of Regents by Governor Greg Abbott in 2019 and then reappointed in 2025, Hernandez donated more than $1 million to the Texas A&M Foundation to empower initiatives such as the Brownsville Scholars Program. And his personal relationship with former Chancellor John Sharp (center, left, between Hernandez and TSC President  Dr. Jesús Roberto Rodríguez), who has since retired, propelled his initiatives at the state level.

The Brownsville Scholars Program aims to boost the capability of students to excel for the benefit of the community. It was established after Brownsville was named the poorest city in America in 2013. Data shows that the city’s economically disadvantaged students fail to access college education.

Managed by the Texas A&M Foundation, a nonprofit that works to make higher education more accessible in the state, the Brownsville Scholars Program offers mentorship opportunities and co-curricular enrichment activities. They are also eligible for other benefits, including internships

($1,000) to attract students back to South Texas after they have completed their studies, scholarships ($4,500) offered yearly to each low-income or first-generation student to supplement state and federal aid Academic Enrichment ($4,000) in stipends to enable them take part in academic enrichment initiatives, such as out-of-town conferences and workshops, study abroad programs, and mission work.

Things have changed. 

The most recent employment growth surveys indicate that the Brownsville-Harlingen SMSA now leads the state in employment growth, and its workforce model has proven to create and retain well-paying manufacturing jobs, mainly at the Port of Brownsville and the surrounding area. 

Partnering with local school districts, the City of Brownsville, through Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with Brownsville Southmost College and Texas State Technical College, the Brownsville Navigation District and the Cameron County Workforce Commission, the  A&M has implemented a comprehensive approach to economic and workforce development through its  Engineering Extension Service.

  

But the OP 10.33 team isn't done yet. If Hernandez and his team continue on this course, they will have achieved – or surpassed – their goals of workforce development and job creation set for October 2033 some eight years ahead of schedule. Already, the Texas A&M Workforce Advanced Manufacturing Hub – offering courses at no cost to students – is going up at the Port of Brownsville and is nearing completion of a 50,000 square-foot training facility.

There is still much to be done, Hernandez agrees. But compared to what was there just five short years ago, the collaboration to lift Brownsville from its ignominious place in the national picture is off to a good start.