Kristina Martel
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Strategic Director
American Cancer Society
Kristina M. Martel (She/Her/Ella), is a second-generation Latina, born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She is a graduate of California State University Los Angeles and New York University Tisch School of the Arts Film School. Martel has dedicated her 23-year career at the American Cancer Society, Inc. (ACS) to health equity by advocating access to care and promoting cancer screening to ensure that all people have a fair and just opportunity to live a long, healthier life free from cancer.
Martel has led national and global marketing communication strategies as ACS Integrated Marketing Director. In her current executive leadership role as Strategic Director, Diversity Equity & Inclusion for the ACS California Guam Hawaii Division, she oversees DE&I initiatives, driving impact through philanthropic partnerships in health equity, access to care, and research in diversity. Her founded partnerships with local and national media, corporate, health, and community DE&I leaders have yielded an impact in marginalized communities across the U.S. from California to Alaska and Hawai‘i. Martel’s documented storytelling of African American and Indigenous people, including Native American, Native Hawaiian, Alaskan Native, and Latinos disproportionately impacted by social determinants of health and systemic racism is unwavering.
Martel’s storytelling extends to her volunteer community work on public radio, where she hosts a weekly show in Boyle Heights honoring women, self-identifying femme, and BIPOC LGBTQIA+ community leaders and artists who inspire, empower, and lead as beacons of collective hope for multi-generations.
