In addition to her duties at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which keeps things moving in the San Francisco Bay area, Grace Martinez is also the incoming president of the growing Government Financial Officers Association.
"One of the biggest things that we have going is the change in membership structure," said Martinez. "It made it easier for state and local governments to join GFOA."
"As far as goals are concerned, it's not only to continue increasing the membership but really increase the depth of engagement."
Her rise to the presidency includes serving on the GFOA's executive board and she has a deep background in working with special tax districts, transportation agencies, and planning commissions.
Martinez believes the in depth engagement can come from participating in the GFOA's Certified Public Finance Officer Program, which is designed to prepare individuals for leadership positions in state and local governments.
The organization's Leadership Academy and the Learning Pathways program are also among her favorites.
Dealing with rapidly-changing technology is another point of emphasis for GFOA's new leadership. "Government entities have always been behind when it comes to technology," said Martinez. The GFOA is working to fill the gap with a new program dubbed "GovFi Solutions."
"The goal of GovFi is to help governments solve important public finance problems, faster, better, and at a scale that individual governments could not achieve on their own," said Martinez.
"The early area of focus will be on improving budget decision making and financial planning, also helping governments assess fiscal risks and reserve needs while really working on modernizing financial reporting."
Martinez comes from a diverse background of professional experience. She's currently the Director of Financial Reporting at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. She's responsible for reporting, payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, grants and cost allocation.
She's also held CFO positions at the San Mateo County Transit District and works in the private sector as a Certified Public Accountant.
Martinez puts a strong emphasis on building robust systems and paying attention to fundamentals. "I've been around three or four new system implementations and seen what works," she said.
"I've learned to be mindful of things that worked in the past. Internal control and risk assessment are basics we should not ignore."
Martinez is applying lessons she's learned in the private sector and adapting them to public finance without adding risk.
"The private sector is always fast at financial reports, which is very crucial in making decisions." she said.
"In the public sector we are very transparent, we finance different products, we apply different accounting principles. There's more consideration when you factor in the overarching cloud of, 'this is taxpayers' money.'"
Martinez has had success at speeding up the reporting process at public agencies without sacrificing accuracy or transparency. Six-month reporting cycles have been cut in half.
"I don't think we'll ever get the speed in the private sector, but closing that gap, or narrowing that gap, while ensuring that our responsibilities as public officials are considered, I think it's achievable," she said.
Team building is key leadership skill that Martinez leans into. "There is diversity in my team," she said. "Diversity from the standpoint of combining more senior folks with junior folks. The other aspect of it is personality types, for example, a combination of very technical people and less technical."
Her experience serving on the GFOA board has reinforced her commitment to relying on a diverse set of talents
"The board is very diverse in terms of personalities, backgrounds, and types of government. I think diversity makes GFOA have the impact they do. They're able to gather as many perspectives as possible and insights to serve the members."
Working in the transportation sector gives Martinez a ground level view of what's happening at regional transportation agencies as funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act expires in September.
"The transportation sector is bracing for the challenge," she said. I think regional transportation agencies will continue to deliver services that people need, no matter what the noise is."
On top of all her other responsibilities Martinez also keeps her hand in personal finance with an emphasis on personal.
"I like helping families apply simple financial concepts and principles that I have gathered along the way," she said. "I've always been a finance kid. My dad was in the same field. I have a handful of tax and accounting clients that I've kept for decades."
Martinez helps her clients stay living within their means, translating budgets, and helping them understand financial statements.
"It gives a certain sense of fulfillment" she said. "It's more personal when you know them. This one is close and dear to my heart, because they come back every year to me."
In her downtime Martinez enjoys listening to and playing classical music on the piano while favoring a Bach-heavy repertoire. She also enjoys gardening.
"There's something fulfilling when you see something sprout or a bloom starting to show," she said.
"Most of the time the shade of the bloom is not quite what we expect, but beautiful anyway. It's like life. We do what we do on a daily basis, and many times something great happens, like this opportunity to lead GFOA as a president."
"It's not only a pleasant surprise, but a really great privilege to serve our members and by extension, the communities they serve."
