Amber Martin

Before coming to CIE, I worked for a popular education NGO in Guatemala for two and a half years. I was a community educator in rural, indigenous areas teaching about citizen participation in government. The experience was humbling and completely life changing, and I was hooked. I took a job in El Salvador with another non-profit, where I facilitated relationships between U.S.-based organizations and their counterpart communities in El Salvador which supported grassroots community development projects.

 

For a decade after graduating from CIE, I worked with 1199SEIU, the largest local union of health care workers in the country. As an administrative organizer, I worked to develop the leadership and participation in the union of some 2,500 + personal care attendants in Holyoke and surrounding towns.

 

In 2019, I accepted a position with the SEIU International as a Learning Coordinator. In this role, I develop and facilitate curricula to train union staff and members at SEIU locals throughout the country on topics such as member leadership development, organizing skills, political action, racial justice, and new member recruitment.

 

In my career at SEIU, I have had many opportunities to put into practice the methodologies and knowledge about popular and adult education that I gained from my international experience and at CIE. I couldn’t be happier and am looking forward to even more new experiences and growth as an adult educator working for social justice.

 

 I continue to reside in Amherst, MA with my husband William and our two children, Carlos (12) and Javier (7), who are bilingual and biracial. While living outside the US again will probably not be reality for us in the near future, we travel as often as possible to William's home country of Nicaragua and are always looking to introduce our kids to new countries and cultures.

 

I have regular contact with Karla Sarr and hope to stay in touch with old friends and colleagues! [10-23]

 

Email: amberlee.martin@gmail.com 

 

Degree: 
M.Ed.
Entrance Year: 
Graduation Year: 
5-year span: 
Status: 
CIE Graduate