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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE			
Monday, Nov. 27, 1998				               
Contact:  Julia Lothrop	 (214)  767-3525							
	  Email:  jlothrop@os.dhhs.gov

HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala has appointed Ray Martinez III, former Health and Human Services White House Liaison and Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff, as Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Region VI which includes the states Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Martinez, who has more than eleven years experience as a consultant to federal, state and local elected officials, will replace former Regional Director Patricia Montoya. Montoya was recently appointed by President Clinton to be the Commissioner for Children, Youth and Families in Washington, D.C.

From 1995 until the end of President Clinton's first term, Martinez served in the White House as a Special Assistant to the President in the Office of Political Affairs. In that position, he was a liaison to state and federal elected officials in a 13-state region that included the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountain states and California. His responsibilities included traveling with President Clinton on trips within the region and assisting with the coordination of administration policies that directly impacted western states. During this time, Martinez was also responsible for advising the President, Vice President and senior White House staff on issues and policies affecting the Hispanic community.

In 1993, Martinez was appointed by President Clinton and Secretary Shalala to be the White House Liaison and Special Assistant to the Chief-of-Staff at the Department of Health and Human Services. In this capacity, he coordinated policy assignments from Secretary Shalala and senior department staff, supervised the department's political personnel hiring process, and served as an informal liaison to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and other Hispanic advocacy groups.

Prior to1993, Martinez worked for Texas Attorney General Dan Morales, serving on his 1990 campaign staff and later in the Attorney General's office as a legislative liaison during the 1991 legislative session. Martinez has also worked in the Houston office of the Attorney General's Child Support Division as an assistant to the Senior Field Attorney. During the 1989 legislative session, Martinez served as a legislative assistant to State Representative Sylvester Turner.

Martinez, a native of Alice, Texas, is a 1987 graduate of Southwestern University and will graduate in December with a law degree from The University of Houston Law Center. Martinez is married to Beth Stanley Martinez, a clinical social worker.

As regional director of Health and Human Services, Martinez serves as a key representative of Secretary Donna Shalala in working with other federal, state, local and elected officials on a wide range of health and social service issues.

Note: HHS press releases are available on the World Wide Web at: www.hhs.gov.