RICHARD L. MARTINEZ, JR., ECMCA
Chicago,IL
Summary
Government public servant with 30 years of experience, possessing strong personal skills in the areas of leadership, supervision, execution, project management problem solving and integrity; leading a $2 million dollar Diversity & Contract Compliance Section of a $1.5 Billion dollar Engineering and Environmental wastewater government agency.
Overview
30
30
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
DIVERSITY ADMINISTRATOR
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
03.2023 - Current
- Entrusted to help build, contribute to, and lead a diverse government department in becoming a best-in-class entity that fulfills the Diversity Section's mission statement as well as the District's Strategic goals of: Community Engagement: Strategy #3 expanding partnerships, outreach and engagement to new audiences, Strategy #4 enhancing the experience of vendors that do business with MWRD. Strategy #5 increasing diverse participation in MWRD contracts that ultimately result in a positive economic/financial growth & impact on African American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Women and Veteran owned businesses.
- Leads staff in meeting the District's Affirmative Action goals while maintaining a legally defensible program.
- Provides subject matter expertise to the Executive Director and the Board of Commissioners.
- Engages with various community organizations and contractor groups in quarterly Assist Agency meetings providing information regarding the District's goals, achievements and status of ongoing projects.
- Provide reports, metrics, and responses to requests to and from the Board of Commissioners.
- Responsible for overseeing the staff implementation & execution of Disparity study recommendations.
- Provide annual budget recommendations & presentations for the Section.
- Conduct trainings & supervision of staff including hiring, firing and promotions.
SENIOR DIVERSITY OFFICER-DIVERSITY SECTION
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
12.2015 - 03.2023
- Assisted Diversity Administrator in overseeing Departmental initiatives and Diversity staff.
- Supervised the work and performance of six Diversity Officers.
- Reviewed other jurisdiction's Diversity policies & initiatives and made recommendations to the District.
- Navigated and worked in tandem with other departments such as: Board of Commissioners, Engineering, Law, Procurement, Maintenance and Operations, Public Affairs and Information Technology.
- Supervised the compliance work related to multi-million-dollar Capital Construction Contracts & Prime Contractors for utilization of Minority, Women and Small Businesses (M/W/SBE's).
- Project Manager of the adoption/Implementation of the District's first electronic compliance monitoring system.
- Built strategic relationships with several M/W/SBE assist agencies throughout Chicagoland.
- Oversaw the implementation and monitoring of Inter-Governmental Agreements including Stormwater & Green Infrastructure projects with suburban townships & municipalities.
- Contributed to the Board of Commissioners in the enhancing and refining of legislation regarding the District's Affirmative Action Ordinance.
- Managed relationships with several construction trade associations and assist agencies in promoting the Districts program and policies.
- Negotiated dispute resolutions between prime and subcontractors.
- Assisted in the planning and execution of Diversity outreach initiatives.
COMPLIANCE OFFICER- AFFIRMATIVE ACTION SECTION
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
06.1999 - 12.2015
- Monitored the District's largest Capital projects, Deep Tunnel, Thornton Tollway Dam and A/B, C/D Service Tunnel, over $2 Billion, for compliance of Affirmative Action Goals and Apprentice hour provisions.
- Assessed contracts from various User departments to determine eligibility to place Affirmative Action goals and Apprentice provisions.
- Conducted MBE, WBE & VBE certifications.
- Assigned as District liaison to work with Assistant Agencies such as HACIA, Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Latin American Chamber of Commerce, Native American Chamber of Commerce & Elite SDVOB.
CONTRACT SPECIALIST
Cook County Government
08.1998 - 06.1999
- Conducted MBE & WBE Certifications.
- Monitored contracts for compliance.
- Assigned MBE & WBE goals to County Agency and Department RFP's for the first time.
LEGISLATIVE AIDE
Chicago City Council
06.1995 - 01.1998
- Prepared summaries of proposed legislation before the Committee on Finance, to City Council member.
- Represented council member in several Council committee meetings and public hearings.
- Instrumental in preparing million-dollar Aldermanic menu of annual ward wide infrastructure needs.
- Conducted research on ward-wide economic development opportunities including targeting and meeting with developers for potential development opportunities.
Education
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE - Political Science, Criminal Justice
Loyola University Chicago
01.1994
Skills
- Project Management
- Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint
- SAP
- Constructware/E-Builder
- Compliance Monitoring System
- Strategic planning
- Contract administration
- Stakeholder relations
- Problem-solving
- Team building and leadership
- Business development
- Task delegation
Certification
- Executive Certified Master Compliance Administrator, American Contract Compliance Association, National Training Institute
- Morgan State University, CEU's
- Cornerstone Training
- Various other Professional Development Hours (PDP) American Association of Public Works
Accomplishments
- Project Manager, Implemented first Contract Compliance Monitoring System.
- Implemented & established compliance of the District's Inter-Governmental Agreements.
- Co-Founder, author, and teacher of The Model Contractor Development Program.
- Co-Chair, Annual Med-Week Conference in partnership with the Minority Business Development Agency and CMBDC.
Honors And Awards
- Government Service Award, Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA) 2025
- Advocate of the Year, Black Contractors Owners & Executives (BCOE) 2024
- Champion of Diversity & Economic Inclusion, 01/01/23, Compass DEI Institute
- Advocate of the Year, 01/01/19, Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA)
- President's Volunteer Service Award, Gold, 01/01/17, President Barack H. Obama
- Advocate of the Year, 01/01/16, Federation of Women Contractors
- Special Commendation from the Chicago Police Department
Timeline
DIVERSITY ADMINISTRATOR
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
03.2023 - Current
SENIOR DIVERSITY OFFICER-DIVERSITY SECTION
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
12.2015 - 03.2023
COMPLIANCE OFFICER- AFFIRMATIVE ACTION SECTION
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
06.1999 - 12.2015
CONTRACT SPECIALIST
Cook County Government
08.1998 - 06.1999
LEGISLATIVE AIDE
Chicago City Council
06.1995 - 01.1998
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE - Political Science, Criminal Justice
Loyola University Chicago
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