Commerce Director Alba Martinez is resigning from the Parker administration to produce a musical about Philly’s Latino communities

Philadelphia Commerce Director Alba Martinez is resigning from city government to produce a musical that is part of her long-running “La Guagua 47″ project highlighting the vibrance of Philadelphia’s Latino communities, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s office announced Thursday.

Martinez’s resignation, which is effective May 1, will come only 16 months after Parker took office, an unusually short tenure for a top-level official in a new administration. She is the most senior Parker appointee to step down so far aside from former Chief Deputy Mayor Aren Platt, who resigned unexpectedly last October amid discord in the top rungs of the administration and now manages Parker’s campaign.

Other early Parker appointees who have left the administration include Bob McDermott, who served as budget director, and Kafi Lindsay, who was director of strategic partnerships. Labor Director Perritti Divirgilio is also expected to step down soon.

Martinez, who grew up in Puerto Rico, is Philadelphia’s first Latina commerce director and one of the highest-ranking LGBTQ city officials in the city’s history.

» READ MORE: Alba Martinez isn’t a typical Philadelphia commerce director. And that’s what Mayor Cherelle Parker wants.

The Commerce Department serves as a liaison between the business community and City Hall, provides services to companies trying to navigate city bureaucracy, and helps the mayor craft economic policy.

Parker has not named a successor, but the administration said in a news release a transition plan will be announced “in the near future, including planning for a comprehensive search.”

The mayor called Martinez “a true partner in driving our economic opportunity agenda.

“Her dedication and creativity have laid a strong foundation for inclusive growth throughout our city and its many neighborhoods,” Parker said in a statement.

Martinez said serving as commerce director “has been one of the greatest honors of my career.”

“I am proud of the foundation we’ve built together — from the Small Business Catalyst Fund to the Philly Biz Hub, the expansion of PHL Taking Care of Business, the launch of our Business Navigator team, and more,” Martinez said in a statement. “I look forward to staying involved as a member of the city’s business community and a champion of Mayor Parker’s agenda.”

Martinez’s “La Guagua 47″ project is based on her experience of moving to Philly after graduating from the Georgetown Law Center. Lacking connections in the city, she looked up the arts and culture organization Taller Puertorriqueño in the phone book and took SEPTA’s #47 bus up to North Philadelphia, where she discovered Philly’s Puerto Rican community.

» READ MORE: ‘La Guagua 47′ shows how SEPTA’s #47 bus connects Latino communities throughout the city

Parker’s selection of Martinez for commerce director was something of an unconventional choice. Past commerce directors have typically spent their entire careers in the corporate sector. Although Martinez was an executive at Vanguard later in her career, she made her name in the nonprofit sector, leading Congreso de Latinos Unidos and the United Way, and previously served as child welfare commissioner during former Mayor John F. Street’s administration.

It was no accident: Parker was sending a message that she wanted her vision of providing “access to economic opportunity for all” to be felt in neighborhood commercial corridors as much as in Center City skyscrapers.

“My ability to understand what’s going on in the neighborhood as well as what’s going in the business sector and be able to connect with individuals across the entire spectrum of Philadelphians economically is an advantage,” Martinez said in an interview last year, “and I think the mayor sees it and values it.”