Entrepreneur, businesswoman next speaker at Wheelhouse Talks

Grand Rapids entrepreneur and business owner Mayra Martinez will be the next speaker at the Wheelhouse Talks, sponsored by Grand Valley State University’s Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies.

One of the youngest speakers in the Wheelhouse Talks this year, Martinez has earned the attention of West Michigan with her passionate community advocacy and entrepreneurial spirit.

She built multiple family businesses, including four restaurants, a catering company, a tree cutting business and a brand new operation designed to support immigrant-owned business start-ups. She’s the founder of the Mi Raza Association of Commerce, an organization that provides entrepreneurial training, classes and events for minorities.

Martinez’s many accomplishments led to her selection in 2011 as one of the Grand Rapids Business Journal’s 40 under 40 Business Leaders.

“Mayra is an incredible individual with an incredible story,” said Brian Flanagan, associate director of the Hauenstein Center. “She faced great disadvantages and setbacks in her life, but she has emerged as an exemplar of the initiative, tenacity and boundless energy we need in our leaders today.”

Martinez manages an active family life with two children. She’s been known to juggle priorities -- and four cell phones -- to organize her career and personal life.

The Wheelhouse Talk featuring Mayra Martinez

March 14

12:30-1:30 p.m. 

Kroc Community Center, 2500 S. Division, Grand Rapids

RSVP for the event at www.allpresidents.org

Rick DeVos, founder of ArtPrize, will close the Wheelhouse Talks series on April 11.

For more information, contact the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at (616) 331-2770 or visit www.allpresidents.org.