Changemaker: Rosa Martinez paves the way for other Latino-owned business in the construction industry

Changemaker: Rosa Martinez paves the way for other Latino-owned business in the construction industry


woman wearing construction safety

This is a part of a series of blog posts amplifying community voices.

Rosa Martinez is the co-founder and president of Professional Minority Group (PMG), a facility asbestos and lead abatement company. Martinez started the company over 20 years ago with her husband after he was let go from his previous job. As small business owners, they faced many challenges, including a lack of access to industry information and educational resources in Spanish. Realizing many other Latino-business owners were facing similar challenges, Martinez helped level the playing field by founding LatinoBuilt, a local trade association whose mission is to address these inequalities by improving the opportunities in construction for Latino-owned businesses in Oregon. The association, now with over 200 members, is led by a team and board of directors of other local Latino-owned business contractors who understand first-hand the barriers and needs of this audience.

Watch the following video to learn more about Martinez’ story and how she is supporting other Latinos in the construction industry.