Albert C. Zapanta
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, Retired Trustee
TERM AS TRUSTEE:
June 7, 2010 through June 2020
BIOGRAPHY:
Albert C. Zapanta is the President and CEO of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce and is responsible for operations in ten regional offices in the United States and ten in Mexico. Prior to his appointment to the Chamber in 1994, he worked as an industrial engineer for Bethlehem Steel, and as Director of Governmental Affairs for ARCO until his retirement in 1993 after 18 years of service as a senior executive.
Al has held numerous Presidential appointments, including a White House fellow in 1973-74 and as Senate-confirmed Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Management and Administration from 1976-77. Al was also appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. State Department Advisory Committee on International Trade Technology and Development from 1981-1987, and by President George W. Bush as a private sector delegate to the U.S. – Mexico Partnership for Prosperity from 2001-2008. He was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld to serve as Chairman of the Reserve Forces Policy Board (RFPB) from 2002-2004.
General Zapanta’s military record includes the award of the Silver Star, five Bronze Stars for Valor, the Purple Heart and thirty other awards during the Vietnam War. He was also awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Restore Hope in Somalia and Restore Democracy in Haiti. Mr. Zapanta was appointed by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia to the rank of Major General.
Mr. Zapanta was born in Los Angeles, Calif., and attended local schools and college in the Los Angeles area. He currently resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife Rochelle.
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum hosted the White House Fellows Conference on April 12-14, 2018. Fellows who served in the Ford Administration (l-r) Les Denend, Randy Jayne, and Foundation Trustee Al Zapanta provided an assessment of President Ford’s Foreign Policy during a panel discussion on April 12th. (Photo Courtesy of Don Holloway, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum)
