Merced Sun-Star 2018 20 under 40: Jeremy Martinez

Age: 34

Occupation: CEO, United Way of Merced County

Favorite quote or saying, why?

“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”

For me, this sociological quote exemplifies what it means to give back. If one has the resources to help their fellow resident and/or overall community, then it should seem an obvious choice to do so. What means very little for one, could mean a substantial amount to others.

Community or professional highlights:

• Degree: USC Sol Price School of Public Policy Master’s Degree
• USC Sol Price School of Public Policy City/County Management Certification
• 2017 John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes USC Sol Price Outstanding MPA Capstone Project/Thesis Award Recipient
• Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society Member
• 2012 Pacific Sociological Association Conference Presenter: Research presented concerned the impacts of hard and soft news format programming on voting trends of young Americans 18-25 in the 2008 presidential election.
• Planning Commissioner: City of Merced
• Chair, Merced Accountable Community Health Initiative
• Board Member, Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce
• Fellow, Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce Leadership Merced Class 33
• United Way of Merced County; 2017 Non-profit Business of the Year (Merced Sun-Star)
• Committee Member, Literacy Coalition
• District Advisory Committee, Peterson Elementary School
• Working on developing a Non-Profit Resource Center within downtown Merced for local nonprofits to utilize and obtain operating space
• Includes conference/event space
• Commercial Kitchen

Your life changed when?

My daughter Ava Irie was born. Having a daughter is a very special experience and one of which I hold closest to heart. There is no priority in life that I hold higher than being a positive example for my child and this means being an engaged and loving father. You will often find Ava by my side when working in the community, as I want her to see first-hand the value of community; not to mention the amazing people who make this community better every day.

What do you want people to know most about you?

I would like people to know I’m a “Yes” guy. Sometimes this term is considered a drawback in terms of one’s profession, but in a role like mine, one should remain open to discussions related to ideas, initiatives, and issues affecting our communities.

We have a very diverse community and issues that impact lives are different in accordance with culture and value systems. All of which we can better address when we actively listen. This does not mean that one agrees or jumps into things too willingly, but more so that one is malleable in terms of availability within those seeking support, advocacy and/or collaboration within the community.

I am all about collaboration within our scope and abilities. So I encourage those who have yet to work with me to please feel free to reach out should you see if a fit. The better we align our resources and leverage successes, the greater we can each provide added-value towards any effort to better our communities. Collaboration is essential for greater community impact.

What do you like most about living here?

The interconnectedness of it all. I like that I can be at the supermarket and see a familiar face and/or be able to interface with community members in non-formal settings. This is definitely a burgeoning community experiencing growth in a variety of areas, but at the same time, there is still a great deal of closeness and small-town feel among the community. Simply being able to say hi to an individual you may know in passing as opposed to living in larger regions where you rarely run into others you may know is enjoyable.

Additionally, I love to see the changing societal landscape as diversity increases and the improved human capital of which we’ve come to generate with the addition of UC Merced.

Why is community involvement important?

Simply being an “arm-chair” theorist and bantering about one’s community gets little to nothing done. It is easy to point out issues, it is much more difficult to solve them and this only becomes exacerbated by apathy.

When looking through a pluralistic lens of democracy, the more involved we are in our communities the more informed we are to provide an educated vote at the ballot and/or understand how we can better affect policy within our region to better the lives of all our community residents.

It’s these higher-level policy/systems changes that drive the wedge into institutionalized societal ills affecting community residents’ every day, but this is unachievable without community involvement.

I have learned a great deal from my community constituents over the last few years while in my role as CEO of United Way of Merced County. As a result, I feel I can move forward with a better understanding of the diverse needs and issues facing our community. Still, I am learning every day to better understand my role in this community and how my community involvement can move the needle along the spectrum towards positive community change.

This story was originally published October 4, 2018 at 4:00 AM.