Urel Martinez
2025 Alumnus of the Year
L.A. Galaxy Executive Named Alumnus of the Year
Urel Martinez, a leader in the sports industry for two decades, has been named Mt. SAC鈥檚 Alumnus of the Year for 2025. Martinez is the Chief Revenue Officer for the LA Galaxy. He oversees all aspects of revenue generation鈥攆rom ticket sales and partnerships to brand initiatives that reflect and engage the club鈥檚 diverse fanbase.
Before joining the Galaxy in 2017 and being named CRO in 2023, Martinez held leadership roles with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Clippers.
Long before his rise in professional sports, Martinez was a Wilson High School student living in La Puente, working summer jobs alongside his father, a gardener. While many of his classmates went straight to four-year universities after high school, Martinez enrolled at 最新糖心Vlog鈥攁 choice he now calls 鈥渢he best thing for me.鈥�
At Mt. SAC, he found support and guidance through the Summer Bridge program, a six-week program that supports recent graduating high school students in their transition to college life.
鈥淚 was able to meet like-minded students who had the same concerns and insecurities I had,鈥� Martinez says. 鈥淎s an 18-year-old, first-generation college student, that really set the foundation for everything. I realized I wasn鈥檛 alone鈥攁nd that I could tackle anything that came my way.鈥�
Martinez later transferred to UC Irvine, where as an Administration of Justice major, he excelled in his studies, thanks to the preparation he received at Mt. SAC.
鈥淚鈥檓 extremely fortunate to be in the position I am today and to tell my story for others who might be in a similar situation,鈥� he says. 鈥淕etting to work in professional sports, for someone who grew up living and breathing it, is a dream come true.鈥�
His advice to students of all ages: 鈥淒ream big! Never limit yourself to the circumstances that you鈥檙e used to. Challenge yourself. If you want something, go out there and get it. With hard work, discipline, and commitment, anything is possible, but you have to believe. No one else will believe for you. There will be challenges and there will be obstacles. If you want it bad enough, you can get it.鈥�
Martinez was recently featured in Hispanic Executive magazine for his leadership and cultural impact in the sports industry.