For Immediate Release | 7-22-19

Media Contact | Office of Commissioner Márquez Peterson

Direct | 602-542-3625

Email | lmarquezpeterson-web@azcc.gov 

From the Office of Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson

Lea Márquez Peterson Attends First Day of National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Summer Conference in Support of Diversity in the Utility Industry

INDIANAPOLIS — Arizona Corporation Commission Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson attended the 2019 National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Summer Policy Summit on Sunday to support two resolutions on supplier and workforce diversity in regulated utility companies.

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners is a professional organization consisting of public utility commissioners and commission staff from across the nation. The Arizona Corporation Commission’s five elected commissioners are de facto members. The Commission’s division directors and staff also frequently attend to gain valuable insights and best practices to bring back to Arizona.

Consisting of several diverse commissioners, the national association’s subcommittee on supplier and workforce diversity met on Sunday to consider and vote on two resolutions dealing with diversity in the utility energy industry. Commissioner Márquez Peterson attended to hear from the subcommittee and lend support for the resolutions, which state that utilities should promote hiring and contracting with talented professionals from institutions such as historically black colleges and Hispanic serving universities.

Commissioner Márquez Peterson is the first female leader of Hispanic heritage to occupy statewide office in Arizona. The subcommittee warmly welcomed Commissioner Márquez Peterson and several other, new commissioners to the meeting and commemorated seeing a record number of diverse commissioners reflected at this summer’s policy summit.

“Seeing not only so many diverse appointed and elected commissioners, but also NARUC’s initiative to encourage diversity in utility-focused STEM education and financial services, is truly rewarding,” said Commissioner Márquez Peterson. “I look forward to seeing the resolutions progress to the Association’s executive board and hope for their ultimate adoption and future guidance and encouragement to utilities.”

Following the subcommittee meeting, the president of NARUC attended a special unveiling of new Department of Energy-funded diversity toolkit, which utilities and public utility commissioners can use to measure the progress of their agencies and their utilities, respectively, regarding diversity inclusiveness. While attending the unveiling, Commissioner Márquez Peterson noted the president’s attendance with appreciation and hopes his support signals both the resolutions’ and toolkit’s success.

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About Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson, MBA, IOM:

Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson was appointed to the Arizona Corporation Commission by Governor Doug Ducey in May of 2019. She is the first Latina to serve in a statewide seat in the state of Arizona.

Lea has been an entrepreneur in our community for many years and served as the President/ CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber from 2009 until November of 2018. The Tucson Hispanic Chamber serves the business community in the bilingual, bi-cultural region of the Arizona-Sonora border and was recognized as the Hispanic Chamber of the Year in 2013 by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The chamber represents over 1800-member businesses and in partnership with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry is one of the largest chambers in the State of Arizona.

She ran for Congress in Arizona Congressional District 2 in 2018 and won a competitive primary race though lost the general election. She previously served as the Executive Director for Greater Tucson Leadership (GTL) from 2005 to 2009 and owned and operated a Business Brokerage Firm from 2005 to 2009 and a chain of six gasoline stations / convenience stores with 50 employees from 1998 to 2005 in the Tucson region.

Lea has been appointed to serve on the Arizona Judicial Council which advises the Arizona Supreme Court and the Arizona Finance Authority, the state’s bonding authority. She chairs the Board of Directors of Carondelet’s St Mary’s and St Joseph’s Hospitals in Tucson and is the former Chair of the Pima Association of Governments’ Economic Vitality Committee. She serves on the Boards of the University of Arizona Foundation and the Pima County Workforce Investment Board and is the President of the National Association of Women Business Owners in Tucson. She also serves on the national board for the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

She received her undergraduate degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona, and her Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University. She is married with two children.

The Arizona Corporation Commission was established by the state’s constitution to regulate public utilities and business incorporation. The Corporation Commission is Arizona’s co-equal, fourth branch of government. The five Commissioners elected to the Corporation Commission oversee executive, legislative, and judicial proceedings on behalf of Arizonans when it comes to their water, electricity, telephone, and natural gas resources as well as the regulation of securities, pipeline, and railroad safety. To learn more about the Arizona Corporation Commission and its Commissioners, visit http://azcc.gov.

Twitter: @LeaPeterson

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leamarquezpeterson/