Mariela Martinez

Mariela Martinez

Graduate Student, Heller School for Social Policy & Management, Brandeis University

Heller School for Social Policy and Management

Mariela Martínez (she/her) is pursuing an MA in public policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Mariela immigrated to the US from Mexico at seven and grew up in Southern California. She served in Uganda for two years as a Peace Corps education volunteer, focusing on literacy education, girl’s empowerment, and training. Mariela is interested in addressing the global surge in ethno-nationalism and nativism through sound research and educational programs that expand our views on identity and build compassion. Her current research is on the militarization of policy/ICE, and how the misuse of facial recognition software impacts Black and undocumented communities. Mariela is passionate about how policy advances social justice, programming, and community engagement.

Areas of Expertise

  • Economic Inequality
  • Education
  • Immigration
  • Policy
  • Political Science
  • Race and Ethnicity
  • Social Inequality or Stratification
  • Social Policy

Methodology

  • Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR)
  • Focus Groups
  • Interviews
  • Mixed Methods
  • Survey Methods and Questionnaires
  • Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)