Dr. Gilberto Martinez Jr. was elected to the Laredo ISD Board of Trustees in November 2022. He previously served as a Board of Trustees member at The Laredo College from 2012 to 2018.

Dr. Martinez is currently employed at Laredo College where he serves as a Drama and Speech Instructor in the Division of Arts & Sciences. 

Previously Dr. Martinez served as an Instructional Associate Professor of Theatre and Communication in the College of Arts & Sciences at Texas A&M International University where he held his faculty position for 13 years.

Previously Dr. Martinez also served as a faculty member at The Laredo College from 2001 to 2008, and as the Department Chair of Reading and Communication Studies there from 2008 to 2010.

Dr. Martinez earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Arts from Texas State University in the Fall of 1997. He then went on to earn his Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies (also from Texas State University) in the Spring of 2001.

In the Fall of 2011, Dr. Martinez earned his Doctor of Education degree from Texas A&M University-Kingsville. His focus of study was educational program development. His dissertation “Variables That Promote & Inhibit Theater Program Development” was later published in the 2013 February issue of the Journal of Arts & Humanities.

In May of 2019, Dr. Martinez earned his Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts from The University of Idaho’s Distance Learning terminal degree program where he focused on Theatre Pedagogy.

Dr. Martinez attended C.L. Milton Elementary, M.B. Lamar Middle School, and graduated from J.W. Nixon High School.  He is the proud son of Mr. Gilberto Martinez- Valle who worked for The Laredo Morning Times, The Laredo News, and L.I.S.D.’s Communication Printing Division (the latter for 24 years) and Leticia Esquivel Martinez, who worked as a Medical Assistant for the Late Dr. Joaquin G. Cigarroa for over 43 years.

He will represent C.L. Milton Elementary School, M.S. Ryan Elementary School, D.D. HacharElementary School, and M.B. Lamar Middle School.

“As an educator for 21 years, I have found that the most important mindset we can have as educators is to always strive to “replace ourselves”,” Dr. Martinez says. “We must ensure that every student that walks through our doors fulfills their deepest potential so that they in turn can take our place in the world we create for each other. We must not only ensure that we leave a better world for our children, but also a fully realized version of themselves for our world.”