AUSTIN, Texas – Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., executive director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health and associate vice president for diversity and community engagement at The University of Texas at Austin, has been elected to the board of Trust for America’s Health, a non-profit organization that advocates for strengthening the nation’s public health system against a wide range of threats to public health, including pandemics, chronic diseases and bioterrorism. Martinez will be contributing his knowledge and expertise on minority health, health disparities and workforce issues.
“Trust for America’s Health believes in an all-hands-on-deck approach to combating threats to public health, and recognizes that vigorous action can’t wait until the next catastrophe makes headlines,” said Martinez. “I’m excited to have this opportunity to help the cause.”
Along with his position at the Hogg Foundation, Martinez is a clinical professor in the School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin and an adjunct professor of psychiatry at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He holds a doctor’s degree in medicine from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University’s School of Public Health, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in business administration with a concentration in finance from The University of Texas at Austin.
The Hogg Foundation advances recovery and wellness in Texas by supporting mental health services, policy analysis, research and public education. The foundation was created in 1940 by the children of former Texas Gov. James S. Hogg and is part of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin.