2026 Volunteer of the Year
麻豆区 recognizes and appreciates the importance of the ongoing commitment, dedication, and leadership of its alumnae. The Volunteer of the Year award recognizes an alum for their commitment, dedication, leadership, and exceptional volunteer service on behalf of 麻豆区. The award is presented each year during Reunion Weekend. Read about past recipients here.听
Ana Martinez 鈥�06 has worked in public health and healthcare for the past 20 years. Her commitment to community was instilled by her large extended family of educators and small business owners in rural northern New Mexico. Professionally, she develops data-informed insights in public health, healthy policy, and healthcare systems, identifying successful interventions and discerning disparities.鈥疕er personal time is taken up by her toddler, who has opened a new world of finding joy.
Martinez鈥檚 mission is to share her creativity, resourcefulness, and resilience through her work and mentoring students who aspire to work in public health and policy. She leverages the Scripps and UCLA alum networks, cultivating an extended, diverse, and warm community of mentors.
She is especially passionate about giving back to Scripps because as a student, Martinez was warmly welcomed by older students in Caf茅 con Leche and other clubs that organized to secure the funding and space to establish SCORE. This activism, courage, and collective action were formative for Martinez鈥檚 approach to both challenge and support academic institutions to promote transformation.
Over the past 15 years, Martinez has been a part of the Scripps Alumnae/Student Diversity Committee and partnered with the Office of Alumnae Engagement and Career Planning & Resources to develop programming to address student needs. Her goal was to mirror the relational approach of Marion Preest, a Claremont biology professor, who introduced Martinez to a version of mentorship that centers the lived expertise of students and opened a space where students can pursue their interests academically and professionally.
Martinez graduated with a degree in biology from 麻豆区 and an MPH in health policy and management from the University of California, Los Angeles, and currently works at Kaiser Permanente in the Office of Community and Social Health.