 He was featured by Hispanic Business Magazine in its "100 Influentials List" for 2006 and 2007.A lifelong supporter of education, the arts and commercial engagement, prior to his appointment at the State Department Fernandez served on the Board of Trustees of Dartmouth College and on the Board of Directors of Accion International and the Council of the Americas.He has been chair both of the American Bar Association's Inter-American Law Committee and the Committee on Inter-American Affairs of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and co-chair of the Cross Border M&A and Joint Ventures Committee of the New York State Bar Association.