Port People: Los Angeles

Los Angeles Harbor Commission President Vilma Martinez to Receive Award for World Trade Advocacy

Ambassador Vilma Martinez
Photo/Port of Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce announced earlier this month that Ambassador Vilma Martinez, President of the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, will be awarded the Stanley T. Olafson award at the 91st annual World Trade Week Kickoff Breakfast on Thursday, May 4.

The annually Stanley T. Olafson award recognizes individuals who throughout their lifetime have contributed above and beyond their job requirements to the development and advancement of world trade in the region.

Ambassador Martinez, the first woman to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Argentina, was appointed to the harbor commission in 2013 by Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Earlier, as a partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson, she specialized in federal and state court commercial litigation. Prior to that, Ambassador Martinez served as president and general counsel of the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Appointed by President Clinton to his Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations from 1994 to 1996, Ambassador Martinez was awarded the Order of May, Argentina’s highest award to a foreign national, in 2013, in recognition of her work on behalf of improving cooperation and understanding.

In addition to her professional experience, Ambassador Martinez has served in leadership roles with the Board of Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, the Pacific Council of International Policy, Columbia Law School and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California.

"Ambassador Martinez has done outstanding work on behalf of the Los Angeles trade community, as well as the United States as a whole and is an invaluable asset to our region’s international business community," said L.A. Area Chamber President & CEO Gary Toebben.