A child of immigrants brought up in a pro-union home, Marté (they/she) resides in so-called El Paso / Cd. Juarez in the great Chihuahuan Desert. Their upbringing shaped their pursuit of higher education and commitment to community organizing. As a first-generation college student, Marté sought out ways to build bridges between the local community in the San Joaquin Valley of Central California and the private college they attended. From organizing car show fundraisers for a scholarship created for undocumented students, to volunteering as a college campus tour guide for migrant families– Marté has worked hard to assure institutions make space for marginalized voices.
In 2012, Marté received a MSW from the University of Michigan and lived in Metro-Detroit for about 6 years. In that time, Marté managed campaigns to connect urban and rural communities with better transportation infrastructure, END Deportation campaigns, and built coalitions to secure policy wins at the city and county level. Near the end of 2016, they relocated back to California to organize with families living in hotels in the Bay Area. They also received training in advocacy with survivors of domestic violence and managed a campaign for a coalition of progressive Mechanical Trade Unions. Since their move to West Texas in 2018 to nourish their roots, Marté has led campaigns to secure federal protections for wild places in the Southwest, supported solidarity efforts with feminist collectives in Cd. Juarez, and joined the Apprenticeship with IBEW Local Union #583.
For the past three years Marté has been supporting a national labor and community network to transform the construction industry, track federal funding and build strategic campaigns to engage with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act and Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors Act (BIL/IRA/CHIPS Act).
Marté is thrilled about working alongside the brilliant organizers and experts at Commission Shift. They are all in on making sure front-line communities have a seat at the table when it comes to decision-making, enforcement, and oversight in the oil and gas industry for the state of Texas.