Crystal Martinez

Biography

Crystal Martinez, B.A. ’03, M.Ed. ’05, is a proud alumna of Notre Dame and is originally from Little Village, a neighborhood on the south side of Chicago. She currently resides with her husband and son in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Prior to joining the Notre Dame team, Crystal served in University of California’s (UC) Office of Federal Governmental Relations where she first started as the director of education policy and most recently served as the senior director of the team. During Crystal’s tenure at UC, she led the effort to coalesce a federal campaign to Double the Pell Grant which resulted in the largest federal investment in the Pell Grant in over a decade. Additionally, during the pandemic she negotiated a compromise on the distribution formula used for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), generating $1.3 billion dollars of additional support for UC’s students and campuses.

Crystal has also worked in the Office of Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA) as a legislative assistant for a range of issues, including education, housing, child nutrition and social safety net programs. Before joining Senator Feinstein’s office, Crystal worked at the U.S. Department of Education in the Office of English Language Acquisition, the Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs and the Office of the Secretary. In addition, Crystal has served on the staffs of Senator Tom Udall (NM) and then-Senator Barack Obama (IL), as well as for Congressman Ruben Hinojosa (TX). Crystal began her career as a social studies teacher in Texas through the ACE program.