María Martínez Iturriaga
María Martínez Iturriaga is the senior vice president for the Berklee Global division, including oversight of all Global Initiatives programs and partnerships, the Abu Dhabi Center, and new projects with strategic relevance for advancing Berklee’s global engagement and presence. She is responsible for expanding Berklee’s global impact through the creation of an interdisciplinary ecosystem of learning environments and partnerships that foster and inspire new artistic expressions, exchange, and innovative collaborations.
Joining Berklee in 2008, Martínez Iturriaga was at the forefront of establishing the college’s first international campus in Valencia, Spain, where she served as executive director from 2016 to 2023. In her 15 years of dedicated service to Berklee Valencia, Martínez Iturriaga played a leading role in defining academic, enrollment, and institutional strategies for Berklee abroad. She developed and implemented the enrollment strategy for the first graduate programs offered at Berklee, created the International Career Center, and launched academic programs such as First Year Abroad, among other initiatives. In 2020, she led the negotiations that resulted in an agreement for Berklee to expand its footprint at Valencia’s iconic City of Arts and Sciences and remain for an additional 40 years.
Under Martínez Iturriaga’s leadership, the Valencia campus served more than 4,000 students from 85 countries, and fostered an international team of over 100 staff and faculty from more than 20 countries. During this time, the campus pioneered new programs and initiatives such as the Global Career Summit and the Boston Conservatory Opera Intensive, and developed educational and artistic collaborations with local and international institutions such as the United Nations, the Association of European Conservatories, MIDEM, the Palau de les Arts, the Fundación Paco de Lucía, and the Escuela Superior Reina Sofía.
A staunch supporter of equity in the arts, Martínez Iturriaga also supported the launch of initiatives to empower women in the music industry, including the Women and Conducting Symposium, Berklee Valencia's chapter of Women in Music, the Women's Empower Symposium, and She Knows Tech.
Martínez Iturriaga holds a master’s degree in performing arts administration from New York University, a bachelor's degree in business administration from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and a bachelor's degree in piano performance from the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música in Madrid.
Prior to Berklee, she worked with AEA Consulting in New York, one of the world's leading arts, culture, and entertainment consulting firms, where she assisted clients such as the New York City Opera, Fundación Televisa, Museo del Barrio, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Hispanic Society of the Americas. She is a trustee at Fundación Cañada Blanch and a member of the Comité Protector de la Música del Reciclaje de Ecoembes, chaired by Queen Sofía of Spain. She has penned articles for Harvard Business Review, Conectando Audiencias, and Mujer Emprendedora, and composed the music for the short film Thimea.