Martinez accepts new role
Martinez accepts new role
Chief Terry Cosby is pleased to announce Wyoming State Conservationist Astrid Martinez has been offered and accepted the position of director for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Planning and Technical Assistance Division (CPTAD).
Martinez brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the program’s deputy area and is looking forward to working with state and national leadership to advance conservation and technical assistance with the agency’s private landowners and partners.
Martinez’s NRCS career spans positions as a soil scientist, soil conservationist, state soil scientist, acting national Hispanic Emphasis Program manager for the Civil Rights Division, acting Arizona state conservationist and acting Southeast Region regional conservationist. Martinez was selected Wyoming state conservationist in May 2012.
Martinez also joined a specially assigned team to assist with Hurricanes Irma and Maria recovery in Puerto Rico in 2017. She served a temporary assignment with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service, Global Programs Division, as senior director for the Country Strategy Support Fund as criteria for her Senior Executive Service Candidacy Development Program.
She also served as the USDA Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) manager for the 2021-22 CFC campaign. Most recently, she served as program manager for the USDA COVID-19 Coordination Team for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and acting CPTAD director.
A native of San Germán, Puerto Rico, Martinez received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, with a major in agronomy and soils, and her Master of Science in soils from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
She completed the Leadership for a Democratic Society as part of the Office of Personnel Management Federal Executive Institute in 2019, graduated from the USDA Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program and was certified for Senior Executive Service in 2020.
Martinez belongs to numerous professional organizations and served as president for the NRCS National Organization of Professional Hispanic Employees for two terms. She has received numerous recognitions, including the 2018 USDA Under Secretary Award for assisting with recovery efforts after Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
NRCS congratulates Martinez on her selection as the new director of the Conservation Planning and Technical Assistance Division.
This article is courtesy of the National Resources Conservation Service. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
