Honorable Albert C. Zapanta served as Chairman of the Reserve Forces Policy Board from 2002 – 2004.

Mr. Zapanta is the president and CEO of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce based in Washington, DC. The United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit, bi-national corporation that promotes trade and investment between the two North American nations. The Chamber represents more than 2,000 businesses in the U.S. and Mexico and maintains 14 regional offices in the U.S. and six in Mexico. He is also Chairman of the Board of the U.S. – Mexico Cultural and Educational Foundation. Mr. Zapanta has worked in business, government and politics for over thirty-six years. In the private sector, he worked as an industrial engineer for Bethlehem Steel, and as Director of Governmental Affairs for ARCO until his retirement in 1993. His Governmental and political experience includes appointments to various government commissions and advisory committees by Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and both Presidents Bush.

Mr. Zapanta served President Nixon as a White House Fellow in 1973-74. He was appointed by President Ford to serve as Assistant Secretary of Administration and Management, U.S. Department of Interior 1976-77. President Reagan appointed him to the U.S. State Department Advisory Committee on International Trade Technology and Development, and President George W. Bush named him a private sector delegate to the U.S. – Mexico Partnership for Prosperity.

Mr. Zapanta earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1966, a Master of Public Administration in 1973, and completed his doctoral studies in International Political Economy from the University of Southern California. He also graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Business and the Inter-American Defense College at National Defense University.

Mr. Zapanta began his military career by enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1964, reaching the rank of Sergeant in the 12th Special Forces Group. Commissioned through the California Army National Guard Officer Candidate School program in 1966 as an infantry officer, Mr. Zapanta’s military service includes duty as a Special Forces Officer 1966-’72, Platoon Leader and Company Commander, 75th Infantry Ranger (Airborne), 9th Infantry Division, with duty in the Republic of Vietnam in 1969. From 1972-‘78, Mr. Zapanta served in the 63rd and 97th ARCOM, USAR. In 1978-‘87, he served in the 40th Infantry Division (M), California Army National Guard as the Battalion Commander, 3/160th Infantry Battalion, 40th Infantry Division. Returning to the USAR (1987-‘94) as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee in OASD/RA and SO-LIC in the Pentagon, Mr. Zapanta also served as a commander of the U.S. Peacekeeping Observer Element, United Nations Mission for the Referendum in the Western Sahara. He served in the Washington D.C. National Guard as Special Assistant to the Chief of the National Guard (1994-’96). Mr. Zapanta also was appointed by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia to the rank of Major General in the Virginia state militia.

Mr. Zapanta’s combat actions resulted in the award of the Silver Star, five Bronze Stars for valor, the Purple Heart and thirty other awards during the Vietnam War.