Meriel Martínez is the director of programs & inclusion at the Nonprofit Leadership Center. She focuses on training and development in diversity, equity and inclusion and manages the organization’s small-group leadership programs (cohorts).

Originally from Newark, New Jersey, Meriel began her professional journey as an editor for a major educational publisher. Years later, a move to Virginia prompted a career shift toward nonprofit work, an area of long-standing personal engagement. Meriel served as logistics coordinator for the Virginia Latino Higher Education Network’s (VALHEN) Hispanic College Institute. She then became education and training coordinator at the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities. In that role, she designed and facilitated educational programs on diversity and inclusion for schools, workplaces and communities across the state. She has lived in the Tampa Bay area since 2017.

Meriel received her master’s degree in speech and interpersonal communication from New York University. While at NYU, she participated in an intensive summer program based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She studied at both Chestnut Hill College and William Paterson University, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in communication.