Abbreviation AMC President Jessica Pacheco Director Marcos Garay Founded 15 June 1972 Revenue 303,943 USD Expenses 333,884 USD | Tax ID no. 23-7290803 Founder Paul Fannin Headquarters Phoenix Number of employees 0 Number of volunteers 46 | |
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Legal status 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization | ||
The Arizona-Mexico Commission (AMC), is a public/private, membership-driven, 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that formulates programs and action items impacting the relationship between Arizona and Mexico.
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Chaired by the Governor of Arizona, the AMC works to “improve the economic prosperity and quality of life for all Arizonans through strong, public/private collaborations in advocacy, trade, networking and information..” The AMC headquarters office was previously located in the Arizona State Capitol building and is now part of the Governor’s Economic Opportunity Office located in Phoenix, Arizona.
As of February 2017, Jessica Pacheco serves as the Board President and Marcos Garay serves as Executive Director.
History
The Arizona-Mexico Commission was originally founded in March 1959 as the Arizona-Mexico West Trade Commission by Governor Paul J. Fannin and his Sonoran counterpart, Alvaro Obregon Tapia, at the University of Arizona's first Arizona-Sonora International Conference on Regional Development.
In 1972, Arizona Governor Jack Williams, announced the restructuring of the Arizona-Mexico West Coast Commission into the present-day AMC, establishing a formal mechanism under the Office of the Governor that promotes greater private sector involvement in the Arizona-Mexico relationship. With this transformation came the creation of six bilateral committees: Trade, Tourism, Banking and Finances, Health, Agriculture, and Livestock.
Two years later, in July 1974, in Guaymas, Sonora, these committees met formally at the first Plenary Session between the AMC and its sister organization, the Comisión Sonora-Arizona. (CSA). Since then, the AMC and the CSA have held bi-annual plenary sessions, alternating in location between Sonora and Arizona, to discuss and collaborate on programs targeting the vital relationships shared between the two states.
Structure
Chaired by the Governor of Arizona, the AMC is governed by an Executive Committee, a Board of Directors with approximately 25 board members, and a membership of hundreds.
The AMC consists of 13 working committees in the following fields: Agribusiness & Wildlife; Art and Culture; Economic Development; Education; Emergency Management; Energy; Environment & Water; Financial, and Legal Services; Health Services; Real Estate; Security; Tourism; Transportation, Infrastructure, and Ports; and Sports (Ad-Hoc). Each committee is led by both a private and a public co-chair.