Bishop Joel N. Martínez
An ordained elder of The United Methodist Church and a member of the Rio Grande Annual Conference, Bishop Martínez served for 32 years as a pastor, district superintendent, and missions executive before being elected to the Episcopacy
in 1992. He chaired the National Plan for Hispanic Ministry of the United Methodist Church from 1992–2000, and served as President of the General Board of Global
Ministries for two quadrennia, 2000–2008.
Since retiring in 2008, he organized and directs the Oral History Project on Hispanic/Latino United Methodism,which is an affiliate of the General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church.