About me
Erik Martinez is the Director of Behavioral/Mental Health Pathways at the Alameda County Office of Education, where he leads countywide efforts to strengthen the school-based behavioral and mental health workforce, with a particular focus on supporting Certified Wellness Coaches and building the conditions for more coordinated, healing-centered student support systems across Alameda County. He also co-facilitates the agency’s Latinx Affinity Group.
Prior to joining ACOE, Erik served in multiple leadership roles in the San Francisco Unified School District, where he worked across multidisciplinary teams of school social workers, school counselors, Wellness Center teams, district leaders, and community partners to strengthen supports for LGBTQ+, foster, immigrant, newcomer, and homeless students. He is especially proud of his work developing robust LGBTQ Student Services programming, helping relaunch McKinney-Vento efforts in collaboration with city partners, and building systems and partnerships that improved the district’s response to student and family needs. Erik also lectured at San Francisco State University, reflecting his long-standing commitment to education, equity, and critical learning.
As a first-generation college student, the son of Mexican immigrant parents, and a queer Latino raised in the Central Valley and shaped professionally in the Bay Area, he brings a deeply grounded commitment to equity, belonging, and public education.
