www.negociosnow.com
24 March 2020
Age: 39
Title: Director
Name of Organization: Women's
Business Development Center
Lisandra Martinez is an ad-
vocate for empowering women
through entrepreneurship with
an emphasis on supporting wo-
men of color.
Lisandra Martinez was born
in Puerto Rico and moved to
Chicago with her parents who
were both teachers who came
to work for the Chicago Public
Schools, leaving life as they
knew it on the island in search
of better opportunities for their
daughters. As hard working,
middle class parents, they ins-
tilled the value of a good edu-
cation, a steady paycheck and
saving for retirement to their
children. With their encourage-
ment, Martinez graduated from
George Washington University
with a bachelor's degree in Inter-
national Affairs and went on to
earn her Juris Doctor from The
University of Illinois College of
Law in 2008 after giving birth to
her son, Onix Sequoia.
After being laid off from her
first job after law school she was
forced to find her inner hustle as
an entrepreneur. Martinez now
lives for her true purpose, which
is to passionately advocate for
female business owners, help
them grow to become entre-
preneurs with high potential to
help change communities and
improve the world, one business
at a time.
As a director for the nationa-
lly recognized Women's Business
Development Center, Martinez
has brought the Leadership En-
trepreneurial Advocacy Develo-
pment program (LEAD) to the
forefront as the only platform of
its kind pioneering social change
and economic security for mi-
nority women business owners.
She also spearheads the Early
Childhood Entrepreneurial Edu-
cation program where she helps
childcare providers run sustai-
nable businesses that allows
them to contribute to the econo-
mic development of communi-
ties by ensuring the availability
of high-quality, safe childcare
options for working families.
Lisandra
Martinez
Advocating
Women's
Success
WORDS OF WISDOM:
"I
f revenues generated by
minority-women owned firms
matched those currently generated
by all women owned businesses,
we would add millions of jobs and
trillions of dollars in revenue to the
U.S. Economy."
