Education
- Ph.D. 2015 – North Carolina State University, Counselor Education & Supervision
- M.S. 2006 – California State University, Counseling
- B.A. 2002 – Whittier College, Psychology
Areas of Expertise
- Promoting Career and College Readiness Assessment and Intervention with Latinx students
- Social Justice
- High School Counselor Development and Supervision
- School Counseling Career and College Readiness
- Supervision
Background
Dr. Martinez is a Latinx researcher who was raised and attended public schools in Los Angeles, had immigrant parents who didn’t graduate high school, and was an underserved/underresourced foster youth. Dr. Martinez was also a first-generation college graduate who lacked sufficient career and college readiness self-efficacy and access information for postsecondary education throughout my K-14 experience. It is no wonder he takes a historical, cultural, and social perspective when considering how school counselors prepare and ready vulnerable populations to access, afford, and transition into postsecondary opportunities. A commitment to community engagement, social justice, and understanding the perspectives and assets of underrepresented communities is fundamental to his personal beliefs and values as a faculty member within the School of Education at UNC-CH.
Research
Dr. Martinez’s interest in moving to North Carolina was is in large part due to the tremendous growth of the Latinx population. West Coast scholars have established lines of inquiry and community outreach that reflect the historical and social context of multigenerational urban and rural Latinx populations entering postsecondary education. North Carolina and the new south provide opportunities to explore the needs, assets, and barriers Latinx populations encounter in a southern educational system and how school counselors prepare and ready them for postsecondary pathways. With this in mind, North Carolina presents a unique opportunity for primary data collection and innovative scholarship that can inform and impact how school counselors create culturally relevant programming and counseling services for Latinx youth and vulnerable populations.