Special Secretary Maria Martinez
Maria Martinez was appointed Special Secretary of the Governor’s Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs by Governor Wes Moore and began service to the State of Maryland in July 2023. As a coordinating office within the Executive Branch, the Office of Small, Minority & Women Business Affairs connects the small business community to greater economic opportunities. Special Secretary Martinez is responsible for the administration and implementation of the state’s Minority Business Enterprise, Veteran-Owned Small Business Enterprise, and Small Business Reserve procurement programs across 73 agencies and departments. Her unit conducts statewide training and outreach programs and connects small, minority, women, and veteran business owners to a vast array of state, federal, and local resources. Additionally, she was appointed by Governor Moore as Chair of the newly created Subcabinet on the Socioeconomic Procurement Participation for the State of Maryland.
A first generation American and lifelong Marylander, Maria is a respected entrepreneur and community leader who brings more than 25 years of experience in the private sector. With the support of a women’s business center, in 2001 she started a respiratory sleep medicine company Respira, a Maryland MBE, which grew into a successful multimillion-dollar operation. Prior to joining the Moore-Miller Administration, she served as the Chief Strategy Officer for Project Enhancement Corporation, an environmental, health, safety and security firm serving the federal government nationwide.
As a transformational leader, Maria was honored to have been part of the inaugural class of the Conflict Resolution Public Policy Fellow Program of the University of Maryland School of Law and Mediation Conflict Resolution Office and the Greater Baltimore Committee Leadership Program. She co-chaired the Advisory Council on Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises for the City of Baltimore.
Maria is a fierce advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has served on numerous boards and organizations, and held leadership positions with the Governor’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs, the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the NAACP Baltimore Chapter Executive Advisory Board. She has also testified before the United States Senate and Congress on a variety of women and minority owned business matters. Under President Obama, she served on the Economic Recovery Advisory Board Workforce Development Task Force.
An active community volunteer, her contributions extend to the United Way of Central Maryland where she was co-chair of 2-1-1 Maryland as a pilot program, the Dean’s Advisory Board of Morgan State University, the Baltimore Community Foundation, the Ellicott City Partnership, the Latino Education Advancement Fund, the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and most recently serving on the Advisory Board of the Mid-Atlantic Region Minority Business Development Agency Manufacturing Center and the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council.
Maria cherishes her role as a wife, mother, and grandmother within her blended family. She resides in Howard County, Maryland.
