Ivette Izea-Martinez

Mrs. Izea-Martinez provides overall leadership and direction to YWCA St. Paul’s Youth Development, Housing & Supportive Services, and Employment & Economic Development programs. She is responsible for budgeting, property management, compliance, evaluation and reporting, and identifies strategies to improve quality and efficacy of participant-centered services.

Mrs. Izea-Martinez, is originally from Venezuela, and has made Minnesota her home for the last 26 years. She has more than 11 years of experience supporting youth and families in crisis through advocacy and violence prevention initiatives. In addition, she has led community leadership initiatives for youth and adults, facilitated gender-based violence prevention workshops and trainings, both nationally and internationally, and developed programs. She has extensive experience in community engagement and is a member of the Nexus Institute of Community Engagement Advisory committee, as well as a board-member-at-large of the MN Council on Latino Affairs. She is a recipient of the University of Pennsylvania’s Executive Program in Leadership and achieved the Strategy, Violence and Abuse Prevention certificate. She is a daughter, mom, wife, outdoor enthusiast and above all, a gender equity and violence prevention advocate.