IRMA DIAZ-GONZALEZ, Immediate Past Chairwoman

Irma Diaz-Gonzalez is President and CEO of Employment & Training Centers, Inc., a company founded in 1986 that provides human resource, business, education, and training solutions. 

A native of Zaragoza, Mexico, Mrs. Diaz Gonzalez began her professional career with the Illinois Migrant Council where she worked in various capacities while attending college, eventually becoming its Executive Director.  She married in 1982 and moved to Houston, where she began working as Manager of the City of Houston's Youth Employment Program, an initiative that placed over 10,000 inner-city young adults in jobs every year.

Her community involvement includes serving on the United Way of Greater Houston Board of Trustees, the Memorial Hermann Hospital System Board, the Mexican Institute of Greater Houston, Pan American Round Table, the Governor’s Commission for Disaster Recovery and Renewal, HISD’s Volunteers in Public Schools, the Citizenship Coalition of Houston, and the Center for Houston’s Future Scenario Building Team.

She has been honored for her accomplishments in both Illinois and Texas by the Illinois Migrant Council, the Martin Luther King Center, the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Association of Hispanic School Administrators, Empresarios Latinos de Houston, the National Museum of Mexican Art, the Pan American Round Table, Univision and others. Her company was featured as one of the fastest growing companies, has been named One of the Best Places to Work, and in the Top 50 Family-Owned Businesses.

Her management style is to build on her team’s strengths, recognize each person’s contribution and value, and motivate staff and clients to surpass previous levels of success.