Overview
My name is Dr. Atyia Martin. It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope all is well with you and your love ones. You are likely here because you have met me, heard me speak, worked with me, or perhaps you heard of me from someone else. I created this resource to learn more about me so we can connect.
I am a wife, mom, grandmother, daughter, nerd, student, educator, creator, member of the Black/African diaspora, descendent of enslaved Africans in the U.S., disabled U.S. Air Force veteran, neurodivergent, entrepreneur, nonprofit founder, photographer, target shooter, public speaker, introvert, DEI and racial justice practitioner, emergency/disaster manager, resilience lover (urban, climate, infrastructure, psychological, etc.), climate justice advocate, organizational development facilitator, and grateful. I am all these things and more…I am me.
I have committed myself to being better and doing better every day, especially when it comes to managing myself and how I engage with other people. It has been a blessing for me to do the work I love every day. This does not mean there is no difficulty, pain, or stress…but I am willing to accept the struggle and sacrifice required for progress and joy - it cannot be rainbows and sunshine all the time.
With the busyness and chaos of life, I work hard to take moments throughout the day to appreciate the beauty of life, people, and the world - including as a part of the work I am doing. This helps me to not be so overwhelmed by the pain and suffering - my own and other people's.
Subscribe to my YouTube Channel, connect with me on LinkedIn page, and follow me on Twitter account where I share some of my journey - to stay healthy I keep the rest for myself and my inner circle. As always, I am sending lots of love, hope, and intentional action to you on your journey.
Past Life
I am grateful for all of the professional experiences I have had. I also recognize that there are some people who will dismiss me and my efforts because I have worked in government agencies. However, the reality is that I walked into every organization as Atyia and I walked out of them on my own terms as Atyia. Much of the knowledge and skills that I developed in all of these different settings have allowed me to support communities and organizations to advance racial and social justice in many different contexts.
Holding the newly released Resilient Boston when I was the Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Boston
I am published in scholarly journals, reports, and books on emergency management, business continuity, resilience, and psychological trauma response. I am the author of We Are the Question + the Answer. Additionally, I am a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Northeastern University's Global Resilience Institute.
Cover of We Are the Quest + the Answer Book
I was the first Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Boston as part of 100 Resilient Cities. In this role, I led the development and implementation of Boston's initial resilience strategy which was the first one in the 100 Resilient Cities network to make racial equity, social justice, and social cohesion the foundation of building resilience across the city. We engaged over 12,000 people across government, community, businesses, and nonprofits to develop Resilient Boston: An Equitable, Connected City. Smart Cities magazine selected Resilient Boston as the best resilience strategy of 2017 and the Center for American Progress featured it in its report A Framework for Local Action on Climate Change.
Prior to my role as Chief Resilience Officer, I was the director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness at the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC). In this role, I was responsible for coordinating public health, healthcare, and community health emergency management, including oversight of the Stephen M. Lawlor Medical Intelligence Center to coordinate response and recovery efforts; and education and training through the DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness.
I also led the expansion of the DelValle Institute from the greater Boston area to the entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Additionally, I increased their reach and capacity by facilitating the development and implementation of a learning management system to support in-person training and expansion into online learning. During my tenure, I led the public health and healthcare response to the Boston Marathon bombings, the winter snow storms of 2015, trolley crashes, train crashes, the Long Island bridge closure and evacuation, and dozens of smaller-scale emergencies.
Office Of Public Health Preparedness Medical Intelligence Center
Standing Behind Mayor Thomas M. Menino (RIP) at Boston Marathon Bombing Press Conference
My previous professional experience includes adjunct faculty in the Master of Homeland Security and Public Policy programs at Northeastern University; the Boston Police Department’s Boston Regional Intelligence Center; City of Boston’s Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management; the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI); active duty Air Force assigned to the National Security Agency as a Serbian/Croatian linguist and analyst; and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC).
I am experienced emergency manager with an Inclusive Workplace Culture Specialty Credential from the Society for Human Resource Management, an Associate of Arts in Serbian Croatian from the Defense Language Institute (DLI), Bachelor of Science in Administrative Studies and Serbian/Croatian from Excelsior College, a Master of Homeland Security Leadership from the University of Connecticut, and a Doctorate in Law and Policy from Northeastern University. My husband and I were born and raised in Boston, where we currently live. We co-founded Next Leadership Development Corporation, a nonprofit focused on building resilience in Black households and communities. We have five children, two still at home.
Current Life
I am currently the CEO and Founder of All Aces, Inc., an alternative to traditional diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting firms. My team and I partner with businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies on organizational, professional, and personal development that advance racial justice and build resilience.
I am also the Executive Director of the nonprofit, Next Leadership Development, with a mission to strengthen resilience for Black leaders and communities by accelerating change through leadership building, creating our own tables, and developing partnerships with allies.
My personal mission is to unleash the invisible power that every person and organization has to intentionally act to facilitate resilient workplaces and communities.
All Aces
Partner with leaders on facilitating more resilient workplaces.
Enhance Leadership Capabilities
Work with leaders like you to apply organizational justice principles to mitigate toxicity in the workplace, improve the employee experience, and strengthen operations.
Strengthen Operations
Identify opportunities to improve organizational workflows so you can focus on the work that matters most and your ability to accomplish your mission.
Next Leadership
Youth & Young Adult Programs
Implement workforce and entrepreneurial development program for young adults artificial intelligence and workflow automations
Elder & Family Wellness Program
Expand capacity of food deliveries to elders and families
Reinstitute wellness checks on elders and families
Black Resilience Network
Continue conducting outreach to more Black-led organizations and towns to Black Resilience Network
Provide affordable access to latest technology for Black-led small nonprofits and businesses to expand capacity and impact
Develop resources for members and allies to play a leadership role in climate and disaster resilience
Personal Development
Expand workflow automation skills across multiple automation platforms like n8n, Make, Zapier, and others.
Develop a framework for integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into automations where it is most effective.
Limit my energy to the strategies I have developed for my business, nonprofit, and personal life.
Increase my content creation on social media and this blog while maintaining quality and impact.
