Martina Coe serves as the Health and Healthcare Program Manager for West Side United, an organization devoted to addressing stark disparities in health equity on Chicago’s West Side. In this role, Martina is responsible for the development and management of sustainable health related initiatives to assist West Side communities of Chicago who have been disproportionately affected by systemic racism and structural inequities. Through this work, Martina has been able to foster and strengthen partnerships with both West Side healthcare institutions and community-based organizations to focus on a multi-disciplinary approach to reducing healthcare Disparities.

Martina holds a Master of Public Health in health policy and administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago. During her graduate education, Martina served as a Research Assistant for the MidAmerica Center for Public Health Practice. Additionally, she served as a Policy Researcher at the Great Cities Institute conducting a social impact analysis on marginalized communities and organizations impacted by the Illinois Budget Impasse. After completing her undergraduate degree at Louisiana State University in psychology, Martina worked as a mental health administrator in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she witnessed the huge gaps in mental health policies sparking her interest in pursuing a specialized degree in health policy.

With a focus on health policy, sustainability, advocacy, and inclusivity, Martina’s personal mission is to advance health equity by dismantling the systems and structures that have historically left some without power.