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Edward L. Martinez, MS has nearly thirty years of experience as an executive and administrative leader in the public sector.  Until recently Mr. Martinez was Assistant Vice President with the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH) in Washington DC where he coordinated initiatives assisting members in accessing resources for improving operations and responding to the health care needs of culturally and linguistically diverse populations.  Prior to joining NAPH, he was Associate Director for Programs with the American International Health Alliance in Washington DC, a USAID-supported organization that managed partnerships between US health care systems and those in countries of the former Soviet Union and in Central and Eastern Europe.  In addition, Mr. Martinez served over twenty-five years with the County of Los Angeles, where he specialized in hospital administration and human resources management.  He managed one of the largest public hospitals in the US as executive director of Los Angeles County+University of Southern California Medical Center and held a key management positions at Harbor-UCLA and Martin Luther King, Jr.-Drew Medical Centers. 

Mr. Martinez has had extensive experience managing public hospitals and health systems with diverse patient populations.  Mr. Martinez is a member of a number of national committees and advisory groups addressing issues of cultural and linguistic competence, health disparities, and health care quality, including:  the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations Technical Advisory Panel for Hospitals, Language, and Culture: Snapshot of the Nation Project; the Health Research and Educational Trust’s National Advisory Panel for Eliminating Disparities in Health Care; the American Medical Association’s Institute on Ethics-Ethical Force Oversight Body; and the Board of Directors of the American Hospital Association’s Institute for Diversity in Health Management.

In addition to earning his BA Degree in Philosophy from St. John’s College in California and a MS Degree in Political Science/Public Administration at the California State University at Los Angeles, Mr. Martinez completed NAPH/PEW fellowships in health care policy and management at New York University and Washington DC.  He served in the US Army Intelligence Branch from 1968 to 1970.  A native of Los Angeles, California, he now resides in Viroqua, Wisconsin.