Shantel Martinez 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 over 15-years of experience with building strategic policies, practices, and initiatives that uplift and center under-recognized community voices and knowledge. 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.

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. Shantel is a proud first-generation student.