Pilar Martinez

Chief Executive Officer, Edmonton Public Library

Pilar is the Chief Executive Officer of the Edmonton Public Library, where she is responsible for strategic leadership, supporting the Board of Trustees, financial and budget management, and stakeholder relations. Pilar has a broad base of experience in library leadership, including advocacy, collective bargaining, strategic planning, recruitment, and change leadership. She holds an MLIS from the University of Alberta, a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in English from Acadia University and recently completed the Institute of Corporate Directors, Directors Education Program. Pilar is very active in the library community, and currently serves on several boards nationwide, including past chair Canadian Urban Libraries Council; Chair, OCLC's Global Regional and Americas Regional Councils; the Public Lending Rights Commission. Pilar is also an Adjunct Professor for the University of Alberta's School of Library and Information Studies where she also serves as a School Council member. In 2012, Pilar was honored with the CLA/Ken Haycock Award for promoting librarianship, and the Library Association of Alberta's President's Award in 2016 for her contributions to the library field. She was presented the Distinguished Alumni Award by the Library and Information Studies Alumni Association in 2018.