The Detroit Institute for Children (DIC) Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of Heather A. Martinez as the agency’s new CEO, effective May 1.
Martinez currently is a special education director for the Wayne-Westland Community School District.
With more than 20 years of experience in the field of special education, Martinez brings a wealth of skills and experience along with great familiarity with public schools and both for-profit and nonprofit charter schools and service providers.
In her current role, Martinez is responsible for overseeing all special education services for 10 elementary schools, as well as supervising various ancillary staff groups throughout the district. She has also served as an early childhood special education teacher, developmental kindergarten teacher, resource room teacher, teacher consultant, and more in other school districts, including Jackson Public Schools and Riverview Community School District.
In addition to her professional responsibilities, Martinez serves as the current president of the statewide Michigan Council for Exceptional Children (MCEC), whose “core purpose is to strengthen the field of education to impact success for individuals with exceptionalities.”
Martinez holds a BA in developmental psychology from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and an MSpEd in emotional impairment from Eastern Michigan University.
