Current NMRA CEO Carol Wight Introduces New CEO Victoria Sánchez Martínez
It is my great pleasure to introduce Victoria Sánchez Martínez as the next Chief Executive Officer of the New Mexico Restaurant Association. I have known Victoria since the late 1990s, when she interned at my restaurant, Purple Sage, in Las Cruces, as a student at New Mexico State University. Even then, she stood out as an exceptional student in NMSU’s School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management—bright, hardworking, thoughtful, and deeply committed to our industry. Before joining us as an intern, Victoria was an NMRA scholarship recipient, and it has been especially meaningful to watch someone our Association supported early in her career grow into the accomplished leader she is today.
Victoria brings an extraordinary breadth of experience to this role. She grew up in her dad’s restaurant. She has worked in restaurant and catering operations, served as Development Director for NMRA, founded the Hospitality Industry Education Foundation as its Executive Director, and built statewide programs in training, certification, scholarships, mentoring, and workforce development. Her leadership has connected restaurant operators, educators, government agencies, students, and industry partners across New Mexico. She has also continued to invest in her own education, earning her MBA from the University of New Mexico and pursuing doctoral studies in Educational Leadership. Her career reflects both a deep understanding of the day-to-day realities of restaurant operations and the strategic leadership required to advance an industry association.
Many of you know Victoria through her outstanding work at Central New Mexico Community College, where she serves as Associate Dean for Culinary Arts, Beverage Production & Management, and Hospitality & Tourism. There, she has helped create an exceptional training environment for the next generation of our workforce, including developing state-of-the-art brewery, distillery, and winery laboratories and programs that make CNM the first institution in the nation to offer education in all three beverage-production areas. Victoria understands our members, our workforce challenges, our advocacy priorities, and the opportunities ahead. She leads with integrity, energy, knowledge, and a genuine love for New Mexico’s restaurant community. I can say with complete confidence that our industry could not be in better hands.
PRESS RELEASE: NMRA Welcomes Victoria Sánchez Martinez as CEO, Expanding on a Legacy of Advocacy and Workforce Development
After 25 years of leadership, the New Mexico Restaurant Association is entering an exciting new chapter. NMRA is pleased to welcome Victoria Sánchez Martinez to the association on October 5, 2026, as she begins her leadership transition into the role of Chief Executive Officer. Victoria will officially take the helm as CEO on November 1, 2026, with longtime CEO Carol Wight continuing to serve in an advisory role through the end of the year to support a seamless transition. Wight’s leadership helped shape NMRA’s voice, advocacy and impact on behalf of New Mexico’s restaurant and hospitality industry, and Sánchez Martinez will carry that strong foundation forward as she steps into the role. Her arrival comes at an important time for the industry, bringing new leadership, fresh perspective and an opportunity to build on NMRA’s longstanding commitment to the restaurants and hospitality businesses that make New Mexico thrive.
Sánchez Martinez’s connection to NMRA began early in her career, when she worked with the association and its Hospitality Industry Education Foundation. She went on to build an accomplished career in hospitality education at Central New Mexico Community College, where she spent more than twelve years advancing culinary, hospitality and beverage education. As Associate Dean, she helped develop CNM’s Beverage Production and Management programs including beer, wine and distilled spirits spearheading the renovation of 10,000 square feet and adding an additional 10,000 square feet state-of-the-art beverage production facility to campus. Under her leadership, CNM strengthened partnerships with New Mexico’s hospitality and beverage industries and expanded hands-on workforce training designed to prepare students for careers in the state’s growing food, beverage and hospitality sectors.
Her leadership has been defined by collaboration, innovation, and a deep commitment to workforce development. Sánchez Martinez’s return to NMRA represents a full‑circle moment in a career dedicated to advancing opportunities for restaurants and hospitality workers across the state.
Outgoing CEO Carol Wight reflected on their decades‑long connection, sharing: “I’ve watched Victoria Sánchez Martínez grow from a promising student into one of New Mexico’s most accomplished hospitality leaders. Her deep roots in our restaurant community and her visionary approach to workforce development make her the ideal person to guide NMRA into its next chapter. Our industry could not be in better hands.” Wight’s remarks underscore the confidence, experience, and deep industry commitment Victoria brings as she steps into the CEO role.
Sánchez Martínez added, “New Mexico’s restaurant and hospitality industry has been part of my life and my career for more than 25 years, and my connection to the New Mexico Restaurant Association goes back even further as a scholarship recipient. Early in my career, NMRA became a place where I found mentorship, opportunity, friendship, and a deeper sense of purpose. My professional journey has taken me through food and beverage operations, association leadership, workforce development, nonprofit leadership, and higher education, and the common thread has always been a commitment to New Mexico’s hospitality industry and the people who make it thrive.”
As CEO, Sánchez Martinez said she will focus on workforce development, industry advocacy, and continued support for restaurants statewide, “I’m proud of the Association’s 80-year history and the role it has played in protecting and advancing the restaurant industry, and I’m equally excited about the future. We have an opportunity to build on NMRA’s strong legacy while thinking boldly about the future—strengthening advocacy, creating greater value for members, developing the workforce, building strategic partnerships, and ensuring that the voice of New Mexico’s restaurants is heard clearly and confidently for years to come.”
She will work closely with Wight throughout the transition period to sustain NMRA’s momentum—collaborating on advocacy, workforce initiatives, and member engagement to ensure a seamless handoff and continued growth for the association and its partners.