Sebastian Martinez is a community advocate and leader from South Bay San Diego. Sebastian’s work, with an emphasis on trauma-informed care, has resulted in efforts that include feeding half a million people in San Diego county during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, Sebastian also led community efforts to address the unhoused crisis (as the Executive Director of Community Through Hope at the time) with an emphasis on decriminalization through policy, prevention and housing efforts. Sebastian was honored as the 2022 Molina Healthcare Champion for his outstanding work.

Sebastian is dedicated to empowering young Black, Brown, and queer leaders across San Diego County, especially in areas where they are often underrepresented (and feel unwelcomed), including the nonprofit sector. He is a strong advocate for equity in the arts and champions reimagining the workplace to prioritize inclusivity and honor neurodiversity at every level. Sebastian’s work is firmly rooted in and draws inspiration from abolitionists past and present. All of Sebastian’s work is centered in the collective liberation of the most vulnerable. Sebastian is currently the Deputy Executive Director of MoGo and is firmly aligned with the organization’s tradition of holding elected officials accountable to the people they are privileged to be in service to.