Shantel Martinez serves as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist in UCAR's Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She holds a PhD in Communications and Media with an emphasis on Latinx Communication and Gender Studies from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Shantel is an innovative DEI practitioner-scholar holding immense experience with building strong communities of belonging as well as having a demonstrated history of human-centered and inclusive strategic planning. With her background in communications, she is a refined storyteller who easily translates complex theory and data to multiple audiences. She has been published in MALCS: The Journal of Chicana Studies; Qualitative Inquiry; Cultural Studies ⇔ Critical Methodologies; Border-Lines; This Bridge We Call Communication: Anzaldúan Approaches to Theory, Method, and Praxis; Latinx/a/o Communication Studies: Theories, Methods, and Practice; Becoming a Diversity Leader on Campus: Navigating Identity and Situational Pressures, and others.
Shantel is a seasoned educator skilled in curriculum design, facilitation, project management, and organizational best practices. Coming from the University of Colorado, Boulder, she was a Director over a first-generation scholarship, men of color initiative, and undocumented/DACA student support services. Through her extensive background in serving as a thought-leader for executive leadership, she is a community builder that is well versed in collaborative system change management. One of her biggest assets is employing emotional intelligence, empathy, and trauma-informed pedagogies to cultivate belongingness and instilling equity.
Outside of work, Shantel is an avid traveler and is always looking for ways to explore. She enjoys gardening, attending concerts, getting lost in books, and spending time with her dogs and family.