Anita Ines Martinez currently serves as a Community Impact Director of Stable Families at United Way for Southeastern Michigan (UWSEM). In this role she oversees the Basic Needs and Financial Stability portfolio of agencies. Anita began her career at UWSEM as a manager of Financial Stability providing leadership, technical assistance, and oversight to the Greater Detroit Centers for Working Families network (Greater Detroit CWF) of eight high performing community based non-profit organizations at ten locations.
Anita is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and holds a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Studies. She also volunteers her time as the Chairperson for the University of Michigan’s Latino/a Alumni Association. Born and raised in Detroit, Anita is honored and humbled to be committed to the upward mobility and self-sufficiency of the community she was raised in. She has held her realtor license for over 14 years, and holds property and casualty and life insurance licenses. Anita began her career as an insurance broker and her non-profit work as a financial coach at Southwest Solutions’ Center for Working Families, in 2008. She has dedicated the past 8 years of her career applying her extensive financial capabilities background impacting system improvements assisting fellow Southeastern Michigan constituents benefit from improved financial awareness and application of financial principals and behavioral economic techniques. Her professional experiences have allowed Mrs. Martinez to pursue her passion, which is serving others and improving individual and family conditions in life.
Anita’s co-management and oversight of the Greater Detroit Centers for Working families network and best practice standardization is recognized within the 70+ National Network of Financial Opportunity Centers, as top 3rd performing market implementing the Integrated Service Delivery (ISD) business model. Leveraging experience gained from the program management of the Greater Detroit CWF network, Anita successfully launched United Way for Southeastern Michigan’s “Community Financial Centers (CFC) Network.” The CFC network of 6 founding sites implement ISD pairing financial coaching with the partner non-profits existing line of organizational service and income supports.
Anita’s identifies her most significant contribution to life is her role as a wife and a mother of five beautiful children.
Special projects she is currently working on include: the Siemer Institute for Family Stabilty’s homeless prevention, school stabilization, and financial capabilities/dual generation work, a demonstration pilot with DTE and the Low Income Self-Sufficiency Program, and UWSEM’s microgrant program. You can reach Anita at anita.martinez@liveunitedsem.org , linkedin, or on twitter at @anitaluvmykids
