Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Maria Martinez.
Ana Maria, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in Colombia, South America, and moved to the United States when I was 12. It was a tough transition for a pre-teen who did not speak English, had left behind much of her support system, and was about to face head on the challenges of the teenage years. But children are resilient and, within a short time, I found my a place for myself as a new American. After high school, I went to The University of Georgia for undergrad and majored in marketing. Upon graduation, I went to work for an insurance company as an insurance adjuster.
Although I had always wanted to go to law school, the process and the decision overwhelmed me. The internet had information on what test to take and the law school application process, but I had no one to turn to who could help me knowledgeably work through my options, answer my questions, and give me individualized guidance that best harnessed my strengths and experiences. After a few years, a little bit of chance led me to the Georgia State College of Law. Even though it was the only law school I applied to, it turned out to be a fantastic decision. At Georgia State, I found a few mentors and an outstanding champion in now Dean Wendy Hensel. Nevertheless, as one of only a handful of Latinos in the law school, it was challenging to find answers to questions that were unique to me. I also realized that I was at a great disadvantage because I did not understand how the legal industry really worked and I did not have any connections in the legal community. Once I found the Georgia Hispanic Bar Association (GHBA), I decided my best chance was to get involved as much as possible to try to catch up to my peers.
I was elected president of the GHBA just a couple of years out of law school and served two terms. During my tenure, I gained a deeper understanding of the challenges we needed to overcome as a community both to succeed as lawyers in this state and to make substantial gains in terms of diversity in the bar and the judiciary. To me, the biggest opportunity to increase our representation in the legal community and to make these strides involved a strategic approach to the pipeline. With the help of attorneys Adria Perez and Mark Newman, I helped establish the Georgia Latino Law Foundation (GLLF) in 2015 to intentionally and substantively support Latinx students in Georgia through their pre-law and law-school careers and beyond. Now entering its fourth year, the organization continues to make great strides to support and empower our young Latinx pre-law and law students. We are growing our programming and our reach and, in just three years, the GLLF has awarded well over $50,000 in fellowships to Latinx law students who have worked at Georgia non-profits for the summer.
I addition to running the GLLF as president, I have a full-time job as staff attorney for Judge Dax Lopez in DeKalb State Court. I am also a board member of the Lamar Inn of Court, the DeKalb Bar Association, the Georgia Hispanic Bar Association, and the Latino Community Fund, and I am the only Latina currently serving on the State Bar of Georgia’s Board of Governors. I am also a mother to two amazing girls (2 and 7) and I can be as involved as I am thanks to the support of my wonderful husband, Mario.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No road worth taking is ever smooth. Challenges make us stronger and more creative. They help us innovate and grow. From having to learn to speak English, to stumbling through the law school application process, and later trying to figure out how to be a lawyer and navigate the legal industry, I now realize all these challenges equipped me to give first-hand knowledge to the students we serve at the GLLF. But creating and growing the GLLF has been a challenge in and of itself.
While Georgia has made great strides in diversifying the legal profession, it does not in the least reflect the make-up of our population. And while the number of Latinx law students is growing every year, this growth is not yet reflected on the number of Latinx attorneys in positions of leadership. For example, Georgia has only had three Latino judges serve on a court of record and no Latinas. Latinx attorneys at big law firms and in-house departments are few (with even fewer serving as big law partners and general counsels), with organizations who even have Latinx attorneys, having one or two Latinx attorneys at most. Even all Georgia law schools combined can count the number of Latinx professors in their permanent faculty with less than one hand.
What this translates into for us is a chicken-and-egg funding and support problem. Although organizations speak about their commitment to diversity and to hiring more diverse candidates, funding for diversity programs is very limited. Understandably, these organizations want to support the causes their employees are invested in, but if the organization does not have any Latinx attorneys and especially no Latinx partners, they are less likely to fund organizations working to strengthen the Latinx pipeline. My challenge becomes driving home the message that investing in Latinx law students might seem long term, but it will yield exponential results in terms of the caliber of candidates that will be available for law firms to hire and the outstanding leaders these attorneys will become in the organizations and the community. I have to find ways to show these organizations that by investing in pre-law and law students, they can help shape them into the candidates they will want to hire and have a direct impact in not only diversifying the profession but ensuring that this diverse candidates are truly reaching their full potential.
Georgia Latino Law Foundation – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Georgia Latino Law Foundation was created in 2015 to intentionally and substantively support Latinx pre-law and law students in Georgia. Our mission is to increase diversity in the legal profession by supporting the Latinx legal community pipeline. In addition, GLLF seeks to increase the Latino community’s access to the legal system by educating and empowering Latinos to join the legal profession. We do this by providing both academic excellence and professional development programming throughout the school year, and by awarding fellowships to Latinx law students during the summer.
The work of the organizations has three pillars: 1) Law Day is a two-day orientation for incoming and existing law-students so they can prepare to excel in the upcoming academic year and can formulate a plan for their professional growth; 2) the Leadership Academy and Mentoring Program is a year-long series of leadership development workshops so law students can both strengthen their leadership skills and find their place as leaders in the legal community and the community at large; and 3) the Foundation Fellowship Program allows to award fellowships to Latinx students working for legal non-profits who serve the Latinx community. Now entering its fourth year, the GLLF has provided mentoring opportunities to over a hundred law students and awarded well over $50,000 in fellowships to Latinx law students…
In addition to these programs, our all-voluntary leadership team provides countless hours of mentoring and advise to Latinx law students throughout the year as they navigate law school challenges and the job search process. This coming year, we are partnering with the Hispanic National Bar Association and the Georgia Hispanic Bar Association to launch a Latinx Law Students Emergency Fund, so we can ensure Latinx law students can remain in law school when life throws unexpected economic emergencies their way. Finally, we will be launching our inaugural Advisory Board in just a few weeks and we could not be more excited about the caliber of individuals joining our team.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Becoming a staff attorney for a very respected judge and launching the GLLF are equally proud moments. I am honored every day to serve the people of DeKalb County as a staff member of the State Court. I love my job because it allows me to have a positive impact on the community by ensuring that cases before our division are being handled fairly and effectively.
I also love being president of the GLLF and serving these law students that I have grown to love so much. I love not just helping them with school, but learning their stories and their personal struggles. Brainstorming together ways to overcome challenges, and expanding their network by sharing mine. Every day they amaze me more and I cannot wait for the world to see what I see in them. They are already leaders but armed with a JD; they are going to change the world.
Pricing:
- Sponsorship opportunities are available. More information on the GLLF’s website.
Contact Info:
- Website: galatinolawfoundation.org
- Email:info@galatinolawfoundation.org
Image credit:
Kate Byars Photography.
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