Last updated: November 10, 2022
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Josie Fernandez
Josie Fernandez was born Josefina Fernandez in Havana, Cuba, in 1956. In a 2004 article published by the Arkansas Times she recalls her life in Cuba as hard, having to “work 45 days in a field, cutting sugar cane for the Castro regime.” Her family applied for permission to emigrate but approval wasn’t granted for five years. During that time, they “had to put up with all the nonsense of being identified as people who wanted to emigrate—who didn’t support the regime.” In 1969, when she was 12, she left Cuba with her family and settled in South Florida.
While her life in Florida was significantly better, Hernandez had difficulty adapting, especially in school. Her classmates often bullied her for being a refugee, mocking her for only owning one skirt. However, her English teacher—who also suggested she start going by the Americanized “Josie” instead of Josefina—encouraged her to stay resilient. She took that advice, eventually becoming the first female class president of her high school.
Hernandez graduated from high school in 1974 and attended Miami-Dade Junior College for a year. On July 4, 1976, she became a naturalized citizen of the United States, noting “My naturalization certificate has the Bicentennial emblem on it.” She legally changed her name to Josie Fernandez, because she “wanted to be the me that I had become.” That same year a journalism class assignment led her to interview the commander of the Homestead Air Force Base. He inspired her to enlist in the US Air Force.
Fernandez served as a public affairs specialist at the Homestead Air Force Base. While there she met airman Charles Andrew Hiett—the man she would later marry. Their romance was cut short when he was reassigned to South Korea, and she was sent to Italy. Fernandez was discharged in 1982. Using the GI Bill, she went on to earn a degree in journalism and Spanish from the University of Central Missouri.
Following graduation in 1984, she enlisted in the US Air Force Reserve and got a job as a journalist with the Daily News in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. She became a second lieutenant in September 1986. In January 1988 she began her federal civilian career with the reserve in California, before becoming spokeswoman for the US Air Force Hurricane Hunters unit in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Fernandez and Hiett met again in 1992 and married. They went on to have two children together. She was soon promoted to captain in the reserve.
In May 1993 Fernandez joined the National Park Service (NPS) Mid-Atlantic Region as public affairs officer. Two years later she became management assistant to the director of the NPS Northeast Region.
Fernandez was appointed acting superintendent at Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site on December 1, 1995. She became superintendent in April 1996, three years after Judith Córdova became the first Latina superintendent in the NPS. Fernandez concentrated on community outreach during her two years at the park, particularly with the Hispanic population in Reading, Pennsylvania. She spoke at area schools about the park and the NPS in general, translated brochures into Spanish, and gave tours in Spanish when needed. She became a regular on a local cable access program called “Minority Voices,” where she spoke about Hopewell Furnace or the contributions of minority groups in general to the industrial history of the United States. She also built up the park friends group started by her predecessor.
In December 1997 Northeast Regional Director Marie Rust encouraged Fernandez to apply for the position of superintendent at Women’s Rights National Historical Park. She was officially assigned to the park in March 1998 but continued as superintendent of Hopewell Furnace until her replacement arrived on April 27, 1998.
Fernandez arrived just three months before the Celebrate ‘98 main events marking the 150th anniversary of the 1848 First Women’s Rights Convention. Although the events had been two years in the planning, her experience in park operations made her keenly aware that the logistics and budget for the event were inadequate. She quickly created a special events team to assist with logistics, visitor services, and communication. She went to NPS Deputy Director Jackie Lowey with her funding needs, and the NPS secured $85,000 from Congress to send an NPS incident command team to Seneca Falls, New York, for the events. The detail, known as Operation Sentiment, represented the first all-female incident command team in the NPS. In recognition of her work, the New York State Senate named Fernandez a “Woman of Distinction” in 1999.
Fernandez also implemented preservation projects to protect sites related to the suffrage movement. She strengthened community relations, built partnerships to finish the M’Clintock House project, and made civic engagement a key aspect of the park’s education and interpretation programs. She was also a core member of the planning team for the feasibility of the Women’s Rights History Trail.
After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Fernandez was recalled to active duty. She worked for the Pentagon’s Air Force Crisis Action Team, at the US Air Force Public Affairs Operations Center, and the Department of Defense Press Desk.
After a year, Fernandez returned to Women’s Rights and the Air Force Reserve. She also briefly worked at the Pentagon in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. As a reservist she spent 36 days each year on military duty. She was promoted to the rank of colonel in 2007.
After seven years at Women’s Rights, Fernandez was appointed superintendent of Hot Springs National Park on March 22, 2004. She was the park’s first woman superintendent.
As superintendent Fernandez quickly increased the water rate for businesses using the park’s thermal waters. It hadn’t increased since 1948. She also rejected a proposal to lease one of the park’s historic bath houses as a Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum. During her tenure many of the park’s historic bathhouses were restored.
In 2008 she helped host a naturalization ceremony in which 24 individuals became American citizens—just like she had 32 years earlier. In 2010 she joined US Mint Director Edmund Moy and NPS Midwest Regional Director Ernie Quintana at an event marking the release of the Hot Springs quarter, the first coin released in the America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program.
In 2012 Fernandez stated, “I am used to a close-fitting uniform.” She noted, “I have two. My career of service started with the U.S. Air Force, where they gave me the opportunity to serve equally with men.” Colonel Fernandez retired from the Air Force Reserve in 2016.
Fernandez served as acting superintendent for Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in 2017. She oversaw the grand opening of the park visitor center in March of that year.
Superintendent Fernandez retired from the NPS in March 2018 after 25 years of service.
Sources:
Ancestry.com. Florida, U.S., Marriage Indexes, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.
Ancestry.com. Florida, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1847-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
Brantley, Max. (2018, February 15). “Fernandez Retiring as Superintendent of Hot Springs.” Arkansas Times.
Bryan, Wayne. (2012, July 1). "Josie Fernandez: Park Superintendent has two uniforms." Arkansas Online. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012/jul/01/josie-fernandez-20120701/
Carroll, D. (2018, March 31). "Thank you, Josie Fernandez, for sharing your vision." The Sentinel Record. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://www.hotsr.com/news/2018/mar/31/thank-you-josie-fernandez-for-sharing-y/
Cockrell, Ron. (2014). The Hot Springs of Arkansas—America’s First National Park, Administrative History of Hot Springs National Park. National Park Service, Omaha, Nebraska.
Conard, Rebecca. (2012, April). All Men and Women Are Created Equal: An Administrative History of Women’s Rights National Historical Park. National Park Service.
Fernandez, J. (2021, February 10). Fernandez, Josie. Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/josie-fernandez-13780/
Glaser, Leah. (2005, April). Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site Administrative History. National Park Service and Organization of American Historians.
Leveritt, Maria. (2004, November 25). “Facing the heat.” Arkansas Times. Retrieved January 18, 2022, from https://arktimes.com/news/cover-stories/2004/11/25/facing-the-heat
National Park Service. (1993, Fall). “Founder’s Day: 1993.” Courier, volume 38, Number 6, p. 42.
National Park Service. (2008, Winter). “Focus on the Parks.” Arrowhead, volume 15, Number 1, p. 2.
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To learn more about Women and the NPS Uniform, visit Dressing the Part: A Portfolio of Women's History in the NPS.
This research was made possible in part by a grant from the National Park Foundation.