About Marcia
Marcia Selz has been called a “Renaissance woman”, a “writer with passion” and a “community mensch”. While touring in Spain, she learned about the remarkable story of Vitoria’s medieval Christian and Jewish communities. It grabbed her. After 12 years of research, writing, re-writing and editing, the book was published to rave reviews.
Marcia Riman Selz spent her business career as a marketing consultant to financial institutions and investment companies. Her company, Marketing Matrix International, conducted studies on communications, service, product development, and branding.
Dr. Selz earned her PhD in executive management from the Peter F. Drucker & Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University, her MBA from Loyola Marymount University, and her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University. Dr. Selz also has a master’s degree in psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Selz grew up in South Chicago in a neighborhood of mixed ethnicities and religions.
Currently, Dr. Selz volunteers as a life coach at Beit T’Shuvah, a Los Angeles treatment center for people with drug, alcohol, or gambling addictions. She also participates in the Volunteers for Israel program, where she spends two weeks each year working on an IDF base in Israel. In 1994, she chaired the Los Angeles Media and Marketing Division of the United Jewish Fund. In 1981–82, Dr. Selz served as president of the Southern California Chapter of the American Marketing Association.
Dr. Selz currently lives in Los Angeles (Century City) with her husband, Dr. Eduardo Subelman.
Dr. Selz is donating 20 percent of the profits from At Vitoria to charities providing social or health-care services and to organizations that conduct pancreatic cancer research.
Meet Marcia Riman Selz, Ph.D.
Author of AT VITORIA: A City’s Medieval Promise between Christians and Sephardic Jews
Writing is only one of Marcia’s interests.
- Marcia is a member of the Sapphire Society of the Jewish National Fund. In 2021, she co-chaired the annual Women for Israel luncheon.
- For the past 14 years, she has volunteered as a life coach at Beit T’Shuvah, a Jewish residential treatment center for people with drug, alcohol and gambling addictions.
- Since 2006, Marcia has volunteered annually in Israel’s Sar-El program, working with soldiers on IDF bases to help Israel be prepared for whatever events may occur.
- In 2003, she founded the Coalition of Homeowner Associations for Los Angeles Council District 5. This group of 50 homeowner and resident groups works to preserve and protect neighborhoods.
- From 1992-1994, Marcia chaired the Media and Marketing Division of the Los Angeles Jewish Federation.
- She is a past president of the Southern California Chapter of the American Marketing Association.
- For 35 years, Marcia owned Marketing Matrix International and was a marketing consultant to financial institutions (banks, mutual fund groups, insurance companies, money managers).
