Contact:

Lea@MarquezPeterson.com

Cell: 520-331-3763

Lea Márquez Peterson, MBA, IOM

Arizona Corporation Commissioner and Owner of the Marquez Peterson Group, LLC

Lea serves as an elected official on the five member statewide board of the Arizona Corporation Commission. Additionally, she owns her own consulting practice, Marquez Peterson Group, LLC.

Lea has been an entrepreneur 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 was one of the largest chambers in the State of Arizona during her tenure. She earned her Institute for Organizational Management designation from the U.S Chamber while serving. 

She ran for Congress in Arizona Congressional District 2 in 2018 and won a competitive primary race. During her campaign she was endorsed by Governor Ducey, Senator Kyl, Congressman Kolbe and many local elected leaders. Though the general election results were disappointing, she enjoyed meeting thousands of people in the region and tackling many key issues impacting Arizona.

Lea was appointed to the Arizona Corporation Commission by Governor Ducey in May of 2019. The Commission regulates the private and investor owned utilities, regulates railroad and pipeline safety, incorporates businesses and tackles securities fraud. She ran for election to retain her seat in 2020 and was successful at winning a statewide partisan election during the global pandemic. She was elected as Chairwoman of the Commission and served for two years. As a Commissioner, she is very involved in the energy and water industries and serves as Vice-Chair of the NARUC (National Association of Regulated Utilities Commissioners) Water Committee, Co-Chair of the NARUC/NASEO Nuclear Committee and on the Gas Electric Alignment Reliability Committee appointed by the President of NARUC. Additionally, she serves on the Board of EPRI, a global energy think tank and as the Vice-Chair of the Western Interconnection Reliability Advisory Council.  

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 fifty employees from 1998 to 2005 in the Tucson region.

Lea was appointed by Governor Doug Ducey to co-chair the Arizona Zanjeros (2015 - 2017), a business leadership group formed to ensure the state continues to flourish economically by driving business growth and promoting Arizona’s extraordinary assets. She was selected to serve on Governor Doug Ducey’s Transition Team in 2014 and co-chaired the subcommittee on Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Trade. She has also been appointed to serve on the Arizona Judicial Council which advises the Arizona Supreme Court and on which she still serves, and served for eight years on the Arizona Finance Authority, the state's bonding authority.  

She previously chaired the board of directors for Tenet-owned St Joseph's and St Mary’s Hospitals and continues to serve on their Board of Directors. She is the past President of the National Association of Women Business Owners in the greater Tucson area. She is the past Chair of the national advisory board for the U.S Small Business Administration's Small Business Development Councils where she was appointed by the Trump Administration. 

She formerly served on the Boards of the United States Hispanic Chamber, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the University of Arizona Foundation. She formally served as the Chairwoman of the Southern Arizona Business Roundtable, the Past Chair of the Southern Arizona Chamber of Commerce Alliance, the Founder and Past Chair of the Pima County Small Business Commission, and as the Chairwoman of the University of Arizona Hispanic Advisory Council.  She was appointed by the Obama Administration to the National Women’s Business Council where she served for three years.

Lea was recognized as the 2022 Hispanic Business Person of the Year (female) by the U.S Hispanic Chamber, a 2021 Most Influential Women in Arizona Business Award by AZ Big Media and received the 2021 Jack Jewett Award by Arizona Center for Civic Leadership. She was inducted into her high school alma mater Sabino High School's Hall of Fame in 2021. Additionally, she was recognized by the National Football League with a 2015 Hispanic Heritage Award by the Arizona Cardinals, the University of Arizona Eller College with a 2014 Extraordinary Woman in Business award, the University of Arizona Alumni Association with the 2012 Distinguished Citizen Award, the 2011 State of Arizona Minority Business Advocate of the Year, the 2009 Rising Star by the Hispanic Professional Action Committee, the 2008 Business Advocate of the Year by MED Week, a 2007 Woman of Influence by Inside Tucson Business, was recognized as a 40 under 40 recipient and honored with a University of Arizona Entrepreneurial Fellow award. In addition, she is a Flinn Brown Fellow and an Honorary Rotarian.

Lea recently joined the Board of Directors for Stearns Bank, N.A based in Minnesota. She received her undergraduate degrees in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona, and her Masters in Business Administration from Pepperdine University. She is married with two children.

Twitter: @LeaPeterson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CommissionerLeaMarquezPeterson

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