BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebrating excellence through diversity, a pair of Lockheed Martin executives and two from Sandia National Laboratories were honored at the annual Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference (HENAAC) for their commitment to enriching their communities.

The awards were presented on October 7 at HENAAC 2016, in Pasadena, California. Lockheed Martin is a founding sponsor of HENAAC and partner of Great Minds in STEM (GMiS), which served as the host of the event.

Over the past five years, Lockheed Martin has contributed almost $70 million to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programs. The company supports Viva Technology™, GMiS' national STEM-awareness education program that engages underserved K-12 students, teachers and parents through culturally relevant, active learning to stimulate interest in STEM.

"Diversity and inclusion are essential to fostering innovation at Lockheed Martin and we believe in creating an environment in which everyone has a chance to excel," said Lockheed Martin Chairman, President, and CEO Marillyn Hewson. "STEM education is what builds the company's diverse pipeline of talented scientists, engineers and professionals. So we congratulate each recipient for their commitment to encouraging STEM learning and serving as role models."

Veronica Hernandez earned HENAAC's Most Promising Engineer Award for her expertise in solving value performance and metrics challenges and her community involvement. She supports the Advanced Development Programs division of Lockheed Martin and in her personal time works with Habitat for Humanity, animal and women's shelters, retirement homes and conducts cancer and heart walks.

John Martinez won the Luminary Award for his leadership at the company's Rotary and Mission Systems division and his focus on helping foster children. He has served on several corporate and business area councils like the Executive Roundtable on Retaining Talent and the Global Diversity and Inclusion Council. He and his wife have five children and are active foster parents. For over six years they have provided care for twenty-two foster children.

Dr. Bernadette Hernandez-Sanchez and Vincent Urias of Sandia National Laboratories also received HENAAC honors. Dr. Hernandez-Sanchez won Outstanding Technical Achievement Award for her leadership in advanced materials research. She is dedicated to serving her community and works with disadvantaged and minority youth.

Fellow Sandia colleague Vincent Urias received a Luminary Award for his work advancing the state of the art in computer security technologies through applied research. Urias mentors undergraduate students and encourages them to pursue STEM related professions.

Hewson's remarks at the awards show are available here.

About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 98,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

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SOURCE Lockheed Martin