A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

   FOR RELEASE                                Contact:  Jim Bradshaw    February 24, 1994                                  (202) 401-2310

MARGARITA COLMENARES NAMED CORPORATE LIAISON DIRECTOR

Margarita H. Colmenares, a former Chevron Chemical Co. manager and association president, has been appointed by Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley as director of corporate liaison.

"Margarita's experience in the private sector will be valuable to us as we seek to involve business in achieving excellence in American education," Riley said.

Colmenares will be a "voice for the business community within our department," Riley added. "As we seek to become a high-performance organization, we'll be looking to the private sector for best practices."

A native of Sacramento, Calif., she spent 13 years in national and international assignments with various companies within Chevron. Most recently, she worked as a project manager with the corporation's chemical operations.

Colmenares served as national president of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers from 1989 to 1991. She also was a Chevron executive-on-loan to the society.

In 1991, she was selected as one of 16 White House Fellows for her "outstanding leadership ability, professional excellence, intellectual ability, character and commitment to community and national service."

As a White House Fellow, Colmenares was assigned as a special assistant to the deputy secretary of the Department of Education. She returned to Chevron in 1992 to work with the corporation's international operations in Latin America where she was responsible for developing strategic business plans and competitive marketing strategies.

Colmenares is the youngest recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award for public and community service from the Community College League of California. For the past two years during National Engineers Week, she has been named to the "All-Star Team" of nationally recognized leaders in engineering.

She received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Stanford University in 1981. Much of her work at Chevron, however, was in environmental engineering.

Her duties included helping the company remain in compliance with environmental regulations and minimize the generation of hazardous waste and harmful air emissions.