Leyla Martinez

Leyla Martinez is a formerly incarcerated student at Columbia University School of General Studies, where she is a junior majoring in Human Rights. She is also a Program Coordinator at the Center for Justice. In addition, she has started a group at the university for people who have been impacted by mass incarceration and she is a member of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. Leyla collaborated with the US Department of Education throughout the development of the Beyond the Box Guidance: Increasing Access to Higher Education for Justice-Involved Individuals, encouraging “alternatives to inquiring about criminal histories during college admissions.” She is a Women’s Forum Education Fund Fellow, Justice in Education Scholar, Gilman Scholar, and a Program for Academic Leadership and Service Scholar (PALS).