Michele Martinez

Michele served for twelve years as a council member in the city of Santa Ana, California (2006-18). During this time, she became the first council member to serve as president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), the first council member to serve as president of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), and the youngest woman to serve as the mayor pro tem for the city of Santa Ana.

Michele Martinez is considered one of the nation’s political change agent leaders of her time and is recognized for her reputation as an effective regional public policy leader; her understanding and knowledge of government and its political dimension in California; fostering systems thinking, innovation and data-driven policy decision-making; and her ability to connect the dots to build thriving communities that put people first; and lastly, her regional cutting-edge approach on advancing policies and solutions to the unique and complex challenges in navigating the regulatory and political environment in housing, water, air, transportation, economic development, land-use/zoning and technology. Using her 15 years of public policy experience and her influence as a regional and national leader, Michele has drawn on her experience as a former elected official and her extensive network of relationships to support her life’s purpose to put people first, to create healthy, vibrant and sustainable communities, and to collaborate with both municipalities and the private and nonprofit sector to identify and scale viable 21st-century solutions.

Since leaving public office, Michele has been volunteering her time by serving as a pro-bono policy advisor for U.S. District Judge David O. Carter on the issue of homelessness for North and Central Orange County. Within a year of her involvement, Orange County has constructed eight shelters with two more that should be completed by the end of 2020. With Michele’s leadership and her regional relationships and networks, she was also able to scale across regions to help other cities with homelessness. The city of Bellflower and the city of Whittier are the first two cities outside of Orange County to enter and settle into the Orange County homeless lawsuit to provide emergency shelters. Furthermore,  Michele was recently appointed by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter to serve as a special master on the issues of homelessness, and the specific lawsuit by the Alliance for Human Rights against the City and County of Los Angeles regarding homelessness.

Recently, Michele was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the California Transportation Commission. The 13-member California Transportation Commission (CTC) is responsible for programming and allocating funds for the construction of highway, passenger rail, transit and active transportation improvements throughout California. The Commission also advises and assists the Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency and the Legislature in formulating and evaluating state policies and plans for California’s transportation programs.