Maria Contreras-Sweet
Founding Chairwoman, PROAMERICA Bank
NAA Inc Board Member
Member Since 2005
Prior to founding PROAMÉRICA BANK, Ms. Contreras-Sweet served for five years as the Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing Agency for the State of California. As the first Latina Cabinet Secretary, she oversaw the regulation of fourteen departments, including the Departments of Financial Institutions, Corporations, Real Estate, Transportation (Caltrans), Motor Vehicles (DMV), and the California Highway Patrol. During her tenure she created the Department of Managed Health Care and led the implementation of Proposition 46, a $2.1 billion housing fund, stimulating the state’s economy. During California’s energy crisis, the governor appointed Ms. Contreras-Sweet to the restructured Independent System Operator board of directors. She chaired the Finance Committee of the state’s electrical power grid, helping to stabilize a highly volatile energy market.
Prior to her state cabinet post, Ms. Contreras-Sweet served on the Board of Blue Cross of California, as vice president and equity partner of the 7UP/RC Bottling Company. She is the Founding President of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE); a Founding Director of The California Endowment; a U.S. Senate appointee to the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission; a member of the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University, the International Women’s Forum, the Children’s Hospital board, the Hispanic Advisory Board for PepsiCo and Frito-Lay Company and on the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and their PAC.
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