Stewardship, access, and awareness of the National Trails system have been Teresa Martinez's life's work. Martinez co-founded the Continental Divide Trail Coalition and currently serves as its executive director.
As a graduate of Virginia Tech University, Martinez holds a B.S. and M.S from the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife in the College of Natural Resources, which later awarded her with the Gerald H. Cross Alumni Leadership Award. She worked in Virginia with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
She has since worked in the Pacific Northwest, presently residing in New Mexico, where she continues her activism. Martinez is vigorously involved in creating equitable spaces for all people in the outdoors and serves as Board Chair of the Next100 Coalition.
"I began to look at trails as less about land management and more about people management."