MATC payee records showed that Dr. Martinez Powless was issued a $156,000 check labeled "Legal Settlement" dated April 6, 2026, according to the MATC Board of Trustees May 26, 2026 meeting records.
By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
July 30, 2026
Milwaukee, Wisconsin - On April 6, 2026, the Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) issued a $156,000 legal settlement check to Dr. Eva Martinez Powless after reaching a settlement agreement by both parties in the federal discrimination lawsuit filed by Powless Martinez for back pay and punitive damages. Dr. Martinez Powless, the former first Milwaukee Area Technical College Vice-President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on December 30, 2024, filed a civil rights discrimination complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Milwaukee District and claimed that MATC violated her right to equal employment.
Dr. Martinez Powless was terminated from her position at MATC on April 15, 2024, according to the federal complaint. (HNNUSA article link: https://hispanicnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2025/01/federal-civil-rights-complaint-claims.html?m=1)
Dr. Martinez Powless claimed that MATC knownly conducted the malicious discriminatory and retaliatory practices, willfully causing Martinez Powless to suffer substantial economic and non-economic damages, severe mental anguish and emotional distress.
According to the federal complaint, Martinez Powless began to get complaints from MATC employees that they were experiencing discrimination, harassment, retaliation and were not being promoted to other positions when applying for job openings.
When she brought up the MATC employees complaints to her direct manager, Phillip King, the Executive Vice-President of Student Success at MATC, he began to exclude her from leadership team meetings and began to bully her, including the practice of micro-aggression at the workplace, micromanaging her work and treating her in "an unprofessional and inappropriate way", and denying her the same terms and conditions of employment available to employees who are not Latina or immigrants.
Shortly after Dr. Martinez Powless's termination at MATC in April 2024, the MATC Board of Trustees selected Dr. Anthony Cruz as the current President at the technical college on May 2, 2024 during a board meeting.
Since, Dr. Cruz had been hired, he has failed to effectively neutralize the ongoing internal hostile work environment that employees and instructors have been facing for years at MATC. (Here's the October 2024 MATC Board meeting video where Luz Sosa, Carlos Aranda, Patricia Gómez and others exposed the hostile, harassment, retaliation and discrimination practices by leadership administrators at the technical college. https://youtu.be/Lm_ImpZGXn4)
In last two years that Dr. Cruz has worked at the technical college, MATC has doubled its deficit and is facing a $2.5 deficit in 2027. (HNNUSA article link: https://hispanicnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2026/07/matc-president-anthony-cruz-celebrates.html?m=0)
Today at MATC, there is only one Latina high ranking administrator left in Dr. Cruz's administration. Most of the MATC administrators are composed of White males, according to the administration staff make up.
Most of the Latino/Hispanic high ranking administrators at MATC have either left the technical college for better opportunities, terminated or alleged forced retirement.
Also today, MATC and Dr. Cruz are facing and additional discrimination complaints with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Equal Rights Division after four former student services specialists (Hispanic/Latino, African-American, Asian-American and Native-American) of the Office of Multicultural Student Services were terminated in August 2025, which the Multicultural student services were phased out (eliminated) and replaced by the Office of Community Impact. (HNNUSA article link: https://hispanicnewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2025/11/four-former-student-services.html?m=1)
The current MATC Board of Trustees at link:
Board of Directors | MATC https://share.google/XlUbk3aq01QMqfpNU
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