Kathy Martinez is a blind, disability rights leader of Hispanic and American Indian heritage, fluent in English, Spanish and Braille. As WID's Executive Director, Ms. Martinez is responsible for the development and supervision of all of WID's international technical assistance, training and exchange projects. She currently supervises the five-year NIDRR-funded International Disability Exchanges and Studies (IDEAS 2005 Project). Through this project, Martinez oversees the production of the bilingual international webzine, DisabilityWorld. Ms. Martinez also supervises WID's Training and Technology Divisions. She has extensive experience in disability services, policy and training, and particular expertise in designing programs that meet the needs of minority disability populations in the U.S. and disability communities in Latin America. She led WID's Central American Training Program, funded by AID, through which she managed IL training for rehabilitation specialists and newly injured disabled individuals from El Salvador and Honduras. She also initiated a WID community-based project designed to engage low-income minority women with HIV/AIDS in activating their own self-care programs.
Ms. Martinez also led the collaborative interagency team that produced the acclaimed 1997 International Leadership Forum for Women with Disabilities, which attracted more than 600 participants from 80 countries to Washington, D.C. Ms. Martinez serves as a member of the Technology Committee of the World Blind Union.
In 1993, Ms. Martinez left the disability benefit rolls for full-time employment. Interviewed for this project she recalled, "It was scary to take this leap because even though the benefit was low it was steady. The benefit mentality encourages life without risk because poverty, if predictable, can become comfortable. I hope this project can raise expectations among Latinos with disabilities and encourage them to take risks and become employed. Becoming employed means taking responsibility to create your own safety net- and leaving behind the security of benefits."