November

Meet the new executive director of college-to-career initiatives

Adrienne Martinez will officially join the MSU Denver community Dec. 3.

By Lindsey Coulter

November 6, 2018

Adrienne Martinez will serve as Metropolitan State University of Denver’s new executive director of college-to-career initiatives. She will play a leadership role in the process to create the MSU Denver Classroom to Career C2 Hub. Martinez will officially join the campus community Dec. 3 and will have a temporary office in the Applied Learning Center in Administration Building 325 until the opening of the new Career Services Office on Jan. 5.

Martinez will report to Vice President for Student Affairs Will Simpkins, Ed.D., and will join the leadership team for the new Student Affairs branch.

“Adrienne Martinez will bring a fresh perspective to MSU Denver, focused on student engagement, equity and inclusion, and career success for all Roadrunners,” Simpkins said. “I am particularly excited by her clear passion for our mission and students.”

Martinez has spent more than 13 years in higher education. She served in various positions at the University of Denver, most recently as director of student and career services for the Graduate School of Social Work. Prior to that, she was the assistant director of student success, focusing on campus life and inclusive excellence. She also served as the University of Denver’s alumni-relations coordinator and advancement-services manager, and began her career as a program assistant in the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Office of Community Relations.

Her academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Master of Social Work from the University of Denver. She is a doctoral candidate in the Doctor of Philosophy, higher education, program at the University of Denver.

In her previous roles, Martinez built and implemented a robust career-development program and led a career consortium comprising faculty, alumni, students and employer representatives.

“As the landscape of Denver changes, so too must our approach to developing effective and responsive programs to address the workforce needs in Denver and beyond to best prepare our students to transition into their professional roles competently,” Martinez said.

Martinez will also use the role to exercise her commitment to inclusion and social justice, in keeping with the tenets of inclusive leadership.

“The tenets of Inclusive Excellence are fundamental to my practice in higher education,” Martinez said. “Throughout my education, I have focused my research on creating programs and systems that create more accessible educational pathways, holistic persistence programs and ultimately improved career outcomes.”