O4U Alumni Spotlight: Jeffrey Martin
Jeffrey Martin (he/him) is a 2012 graduate of the Out for Undergrad Business Conference and an overall trailblazer in business, arts, and advocacy for Black trans women and queer folk in the South.
Jeffrey has devoted his life to helping others. In 2012 upon graduating from Wharton, he chose to take his talents to Teach for America, foregoing offers at Fortune 500 banking institutions. In 2015 Jeffrey founded honorCode, a non-profit organization focused on guiding K12 schools in the Metro Atlanta area into having the coding capacity to prepare for the future.
His advocacy and drive did not stop there. Jeffrey now serves on the board of directors of Southern Fried Queer Pride and the Atlanta Tran Housing Coalition. Southern Fried Queer Pride is an Atlanta-based non-profit organization empowering Black queer and QTPOC centered communities in the South through the arts. The Atlanta Trans Housing Coalition is devoted to “establishing long-term housing in Atlanta for Trans people, particularly Black Trans women, who are experiencing chronic homelessness, and to ensure they have the wraparound services necessary to thrive.” Jeffrey also works full-time as a Vice-President at Blackrock, in their institutional client business and leads their Atlanta Out Network.
Looking back at his O4U experience, Jeffrey says that O4U gave him the leadership experience he needed to succeed and allowed him to view things from another lens, more so than that of his college experience at Wharton. When asked what advice he has for this year’s conference attendees, he stressed the importance of understanding that the world is changing, and we are at the precipice of that change. The actions we take now to read about and understand how technology is changing and how it will impact our future, will be a deciding factor for how well we navigate and succeed in that new world.
Our Out for Undergrad team is proud to have Jeffrey as a part of our robust alumni network. His dedication to helping others live authentically and reach their fullest potential falls in line with the values of this organization. We are excited to see the incredible things that Jeffrey has in store for the future.
You can connect with Jeffrey on Instagram: @jeffreydmartin_
