Doreen was born in San Antonio, Texas yet, raised in Pennsylvania where her family was the “only Martinez in the phone book.” She is the fourth of five children and was the first in her family to wander, break ground, gain access, and pursue US formal education. Dr. Martinez aka Dr. Doreen is of Mescalero, Apache and Pennsylvania Dutch. She is a transnational (aka global) Indigenous epistemologist – someone who studies and pursues how we produce and engage in knowledge. She has a PhD in Sociology.

In her work, she seeks to address and include mis/understandings of identity, collective philosophies, and nation-state relationships. Dr. Martinez is committed to ethically engage and pass along these understandings and processes. Thus, she is an avid advocate of alliance building and promoting justice. And, she has been known to regularly tease and offer witty insights.