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Announcing SVP and General Counsel Loretta P. Martinez

February 26, 2024

Dear LMU Community,

With excitement, I share that Loretta P. Martinez, J.D., will be our inaugural senior vice president and general counsel, effective April 1, 2024. As our senior legal officer, SVP Martinez will be an integral member of the university’s executive leadership team, addressing essential issues that impact our community and providing counsel to me and the Board of Trustees on legal issues, governance, and related topics.

An accomplished attorney with more than 25 years of experience, primarily as general counsel in public and private higher education institutions, SVP Martinez’s breadth of knowledge and expertise will serve LMU well as we build an in-house legal function that proactively engages key leaders and units to assess and mitigate legal risk and optimize our legal compliance in support of our university's values, mission, and strategic objectives.  

SVP Martinez joins us from the University of New Mexico, where she serves as general counsel, leading an office encompassing five campuses and the UNM Health System. In this role, she advises the Board of Regents, university president, CEO for the UNM Health System, campus chancellors, and senior leadership. SVP Martinez also oversees the public records office, privacy office, and some 100 cases in active litigation.

Prior to her arrival at the University of New Mexico, SVP Martinez served as general counsel and vice chancellor for legal affairs at the City University of New York, where she led an in-house legal staff and collaborated with counterpart in-house counsels at several CUNY institutions. At Colorado College, SVP Martinez served as general counsel and board secretary for more than eight years. In the private sector, she was a partner in the Colorado office of the firm of Garcia Calderon Ruiz, LLP, where she specialized in public and private P-20 education law. She was also an associate attorney for the firm of Gorsuch, Kirgis, LLP in Denver, serving as outside general counsel to elected officials, Colorado cities and towns, and other governmental and private entities on a broad range of public law topics.

SVP Martinez earned her Juris Doctorate at Harvard Law School and her Bachelor of Arts in political science from Yale University. Outside of her professional pursuits, SVP Martinez enjoys spending time with family, collecting Southwestern art, hitting the gym, embracing outdoor activities, and indulging in cooking and cultural pursuits. 

I thank our search committee (listed below), led by Executive Vice President and COO Rosemarie Rae, for conducting a rigorous and comprehensive search that yielded a competitive and outstanding candidate pool. Their professionalism and engagement provided me with valuable insights during my discernment process.

I also express my sincere gratitude to retiring General Counsel Drew Bridges for his five decades of dedication and leadership (including his time as a student at LMU and LMU LLS—and at Gersten Pavilion!). Last December, the Board of Trustees presented Drew with an LMU Award to recognize his distinguished record of service and integrity. I appreciate that Drew has graciously delayed his retirement plans to support the university in this transition.

SVP Martinez is a leader whose passion for lifelong learning, coupled with her creative drive and dedication to expanding access to higher education for students from underrepresented backgrounds, exemplifies our Catholic, Jesuit, and Marymount mission. I look forward to collaborating with SVP Martinez as we ignite a brighter world.

Please join me in welcoming Loretta, her spouse Rick Garcia, daughters Raquel (a junior at Smith College) and Rosie, and corgis Ginger and Gunther to our LMU Lion family. 

With gratitude,

Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D.
President

Search Committee

Chair

  • Rosemarie Rae, Executive Vice President and COO  

Members

  • Carlos Berdejó, Professor of Law and J. Howard Zeimann Fellow
  • Brian Kabateck, LMU Loyola Law School Board of Directors
  • John Kiralla, Senior Vice President for Marketing, Communications, and External Relations
  • Kawanna Leggett, Senior Vice President for Student Affairs
  • John Parrish, Chief of Staff and Vice President for Institutional Strategy
  • Nancy Pluzdrak, Vice President for Human Resources
  • Thomas Poon, Executive Vice President and Provost

Ex officio

  • Trevor Wiseman, Associate Vice President for Operations and Strategy