Ms. Alma K. Martinez is an appointed member of the Board of Investments. She started her first term in January 2025.
Ms. Martinez has served as City Manager for the City of El Monte since 2019, where she is responsible for the day-to-day operations of a city with 115,000 residents, 321 full-time employees, and an annual budget of $275 million. She is the first woman and first Latina to serve in this capacity.
She previously served as the Assistant City Manager for the City of El Monte; City Manager for the City of Lynwood; and Assistant City Manager for the City of Compton.
Ms. Martinez’s expertise includes building private-public relationships, identifying development opportunities, and managing development projects from conceptual design through project execution. She is also well-versed in the utilization of various financing tools, including New Market Tax Credits (NMTC), a federal program designed to spur revitalization efforts in low-income and impoverished communities across the United States.
Her notable accomplishments and experience include:
- Promoting private and private-public development in the City of El Monte, helping to add 788 affordable housing units; championing Project HomeKey motel conversion, providing temporary and permanent housing for 133 unhoused families; and navigating bankruptcy and revival of private development project with 208 units
- Bringing new economic vitality and job opportunities to the El Monte community through securing several new national brand businesses
- As Compton Assistant City Manager, leading economic incentive negotiations with UPS, yielding over $70 million in investment, nearly $1 million in tax revenues per year, and 300 union jobs, including 50 positions for Compton residents
- Vice President of Development, Maya Cinemas North America
- Supervising Staff Mediator, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office
- Commissioner, County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation
- Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology, minor in Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles
- Master’s Degree in Urban Planning, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs