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About the Author

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Marta V. Martínez is of Mexican heritage and was raised in El Paso, Texas. She is fluent in Spanish and American Sign Language.

She is a graduate of Providence College. She has a minor in Broadcast Journalism, a Masters degree in print Journalism from George Washington University. In 2020, Marta received an honorary doctorate from Providence College, recognizing her work in collecting the history of Latinos in Rhode Island.

Marta was the Director of Publications at the Rhode Island Historical Society. She also served as the Executive Director of the Hispanic Social Service Association of RI (which later became the Center for Hispanic Policy & Advocacy or CHisPA) and as the Director of Communications at Progreso Latino in Central Falls, RI.

Marta founded the Hispanic Heritage Committee of RI in 1988 and served as the Founding Chair until 2013, at which time she was hired as Executive Director of the organization (now called Rhode Island Latino Arts). She is the founder of the Nuestras Raíces: The Latino Oral History Project of Rhode Island and is a member of the National Oral History Association and the National Council on Public History.

She was Coordinator/Developer of Coming to Rhode Island – "Fefa's Market" Dominican Gallery, an exhibition based on the oral history project of Dominicans in Rhode Island at The Providence Children’s Museum in Providence, RI. She was also Coordinator/Co-Curator of Conexiones, an exhibition at The Rhode Island Foundation gallery in Providence, RI on Latino History of Rhode Island in 2004, which was based on Nuestras Raíces.

Marta was awarded a 2022-2023 Oral History Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Oral History Association. Her book was the inspiration for La Broa', a play produced by Trinity Repertory Company during their 2023-2024 season.