Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, announced Thursday that he has appointed Yolanda “Maria” Martinez to serve as the special secretary of the Governor’s Office of Small, Minority, and Women Business Affairs.

“I am honored to have been chosen by Governor Moore to help in this incredibly important mission,” Martinez said in a statement.

The Governor’s Office of Small, Minority, and Women Business Affairs oversees Maryland’s Minority Business Enterprise, Veteran Small Business Enterprise, and Small Business Reserve programs. As special secretary, Martinez will be charged with improving performance measures for these business procurement programs, as well as coordinating with state agencies to identify opportunities for small businesses to expand.

Martinez is a former business owner and previously served as the chair of the Baltimore Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the Governor’s Commission on Hispanic Affairs. She also was a member of the advisory board to the Baltimore Chapter of the NAACP, a member of former President Barack Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board Workforce Development Task Force and a co-chair for the Advisory Council on Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises for the City of Baltimore.

Currently, Martinez serves as the board chair for the Ellicott City Partnership, and is the chief strategy officer at Project Enhancement Corporation, an environmental, health, safety and national security firm that works with the federal government.

“Maria shares our administration’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that we have a fair, inclusive, and accountable procurement process for our small, minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses,” Moore said in a statement. “I am grateful to Maria for her willingness to take on this critical position in state government, and I am excited for the work we will accomplish in the years to come.”

This is the governor’s second attempt to provide Martinez with an active role in his administration.

Earlier this year, the Maryland Senate Executive Nominations Committee chose not to advance Martinez for a position on the Maryland Stadium Authority board after reports surfaced regarding her past legal and financial issues, including a personal bankruptcy and lawsuits waged against her for unpaid debts.

A March report from Maryland Matters found that over 60 lawsuits or liens for unpaid debts have been filed against her over the past three decades, and she filed bankruptcy in 2019 after owing $6.2 million related to Respira, a respiratory sleep medicine health care company she founded in 2001 and shuttered in 2018.

During her confirmation hearing in March, Martinez told the committee that her financial issues stem from difficulties in her personal life, including an arranged marriage she entered into as a teen that led her to live in South America for a time, as well as domestic violence she endured during another marriage.

“I have a perspective shared by thousands in our state who have found it challenging to enter and thrive in Maryland’s business environment,” Martinez said. “I believe that if we address the requirements, the enforcement, and the communication of this cyclical business structure, we can create a continually improving business environment within the state of Maryland.”