For years, Anthony U. Martinez has championed the economic development of minority communities, including extensive work with the Navajo Nation.
Martinez had an extensive career in higher education, teaching for approximately 40 years at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in Business Law, Strategic Management, Ethics, and Leadership Dynamics. He has taught full-time at Arizona State University, University of San Francisco, and Boise State University.
Martinez was an Assistant Provost and Assistant Vice President at Arizona State University, and then served as an Assistant Vice President, Offices of the President, University of California Systemwide for three years early in his career. He held key roles as Business Department Chair, Assistant Dean, and Graduate Dean for a short time at private and for-profit universities.
Martinez is a lawyer, earning his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) at the University of California, Berkeley, but opted to limit his legal training to teaching business law for approximately 20 years. His combined MSW/JD degrees prepared him to mediate child custody and small claims cases in both San Francisco and Boise, where he became a Certified Professional Mediator of 300+ cases.
An interesting side bit is the fact that Martinez grew up as a cotton picker in the 1950’s and early 1960’s in Casa Grande, Arizona and its surrounding communities of Eloy, Stanfield, and the Tohono O’odham Reservation.
Martinez is also retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Army, Medical Service Corp.
