Supervisor, Project Management Office; Federal Reserve Bank Of Dallas
Martinez, who started working at The Fed in 2011, keeps returning to UT Dallas and Jindal School to upgrade his skills. His first degree at Jindal School was the Global Leadership Executive MBA, which he completed in 2007. He returned to school to complete his MS/Accounting in 2014 and last year, took part in Project Management Professional Development. His current responsibilities at the Federal Reserve include supervising day-to-day activities in the Project Management Office. This includes overseeing the work of project management staff and helping to provide support, governance and training for the project managers in the 11th District of the Federal Reserve.
How have your UT Dallas degrees impacted your career?
Both of the degrees earned at UT Dallas have aligned with what I’m doing today. During my time with the Federal Reserve, I’ve served in the Department of Banking Supervision, the Budget & Planning Unit and the Project Management Office. I’ve had experiences as varied as leading the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Review on a bank examination, leading Operations and Loan Reviews on bank examinations, reviewing a couple of bank merger proposals for Federal Reserve approval, helping to draft the financial plan for the 11th District of the Federal Reserve System and leading the team in the Project Management Office. All of these assignments have required a certain base of technical proficiency. They have also required a mindset open to continuously learning new things. UT Dallas has allowed me to come back to campus and continue to take classes as I’ve needed to hone skills in new areas. I’ve been able to grow professionally and intellectually over the years and UT Dallas has been part of that journey, every step of the way. In addition to the classes I’ve taken, I’ve loved being able to come back to campus to hear speakers, join events and watch the campus grow in stature, physical infrastructure and as an intellectual ecosystem.
What do you enjoy about your current position/profession?
I love working at the Fed. We do meaningful, interesting, honest work. People here are smart, good people who want to serve in the public’s interest. There are many fascinating areas to work and it’s a culture that encourages continuous learning. Since I’ve been here, I’ve had some excellent opportunities to learn, grow and make an impact.
What unexpected experience or event has shaped and/or influenced your current professional life?
Prior to joining the Fed, I worked in healthcare and in banking, two heavily regulated industries that directly impact people’s lives. In these industries, when bad actors behave in selfish and destructive ways, it can have a profound effect on the lives of innocent, hard-working people. Seeing this, I decided that I wanted to make a contribution toward improving outcomes in one of these industries. This is how I came to work at the Fed.
What is a professional highlight of your career, either where you currently work or in the past?
Prior to the Fed, I spent five years working in healthcare for one of the country’s largest hospital operators. I spent two years in the executive development program. During that period, I had the opportunity to work closely with the CEO, COO and CFO of the hospitals. I also shadowed doctors, nurses, dieticians, pharmacists, lab technicians, therapists, food service workers and facilities staff. I did everything from attend the board and committee meetings, to work on the business plan, attend construction planning meetings, attend surgical cases, clean beds, deliver food trays and scrub floors. This experience helped me to understand how many smart and passionate people it takes for a large organization to function well. It gave me a profound respect for the work that is done every day that rarely gets celebrated. The most impactful takeaways are the ability to appreciate people in every corner of an organization, to be able to connect with them and ultimately to be a much better listener.
What characteristics do you look for when hiring people into your workplace?
When hiring people, I want to assess several things: fit, attitude and work ethic. By fit, I mean does the position align with the candidate’s long-term goals? I want to make sure the job will be a fulfilling opportunity for them, that they have the appropriate skills to be successful and that they’ll have good chemistry with the team they’ll be working with. Attitude is also critical. I’d rather have someone who doesn’t have all the technical skills, but has “fire in their belly” and could make a positive contribution to the team. Not every assignment will be fun or high profile. I want someone who is willing to take some administrative and tedious tasks along with the fun assignments. They have to be a team player with a great attitude. We can teach skills. We can’t teach attitude.
What is your favorite UT Dallas memory?
Because UT Dallas doesn’t have a football team or the traditions associated with that, it has its own distinct culture and traditions. People venture out of their comfort zones and try new things every day. Among the most noteworthy examples is something that one of the accounting professors does. Rebecca Files, an amazing accounting professor who has received recognition from the UT System Regents, has taken the initiative to do occasional events with her current and former students. Over the past few years, she has taken them to a baseball game, invited them to her home for a barbeque and had them over during the holiday season to decorate gingerbread houses. It’s an excellent opportunity for alumni and current students to meet and share in an environment that feels far from a networking event.
Did a UT Dallas professor inspire you? Who was that and how was that person inspirational?
I can’t name just one professor at UT Dallas who inspired me because there were too many excellent ones to choose from. A few names that immediately come to mind are Rebecca Files, John McCracken, Kathy Zolton and Christian von Drathen. I never had a TA teach a class and I was always met with an incredibly engaged professor who wanted to see me succeed. Never did a question of mine go unanswered. There have also been faculty, staff and administrators outside of the class who have been coaches, mentors, connectors and ultimately, friends. These include: Joanna Fowler, Lisa Shatz, Pamela Foster Brady, Marilyn Kaplan, Frank Anderson, Carolyn Reichert, Tiffany Bortz, Dennis McCuistion and without a doubt, Jindal School Dean Hasan Pirkul. There were countless students in my classes who, through their hard work and passion, pushed me to compete despite a constant heavy workload. My classmates were some of the hardest working, smartest and kindest people I’ve met. I had a great experience at UT Dallas. To have so many amazing people all pulling in the same direction, propelling the University forward, it is no wonder it has accomplished so much in such a short amount of time.
What advice do you have for college students hoping to succeed professionally?
It’s important to work hard. It’s important to learn all you can about your field. However, smart is not enough. Be humble, be a team player, be respectful of others and their opinions, be a good listener, be a good communicator, be engaged in seeing others succeed and be passionate about what you’re doing.
