Dr. Marcus Martin is the President and CEO of Education is Freedom (educationisfreedom.org). Education Is Freedom is a national non-profit organization that is located in Dallas, Texas and was founded in 2002 by Jim Keyes, Chairman and CEO of Blockbuster, Inc. Education is Freedom (EIF) focuses on five main goals: preventing low-income students from dropping out of high  school, helping students prepare for college during their freshmen through their senior

year of high school, navigating the college entrance and financial aid process, leveraging external scholarships, and successfully completing college.

Dr. Martin grew up in an impoverished, single-parent home in Jennings, Louisiana. Despite being placed special education in the third grade, failing the sixth grade and being homeless while in graduate school, Dr. Martin was able to achieve his dream of understanding and overcoming the poverty which destroyed the lives of so many of those around him.

Dr. Martin, a first-generation college graduate who attended college on a football scholarship, received his Bachelor’s Degree in Education and his Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Northeast Louisiana University, followed by his PhD in Applied Statistics and Urban Sociology from Howard University, and then a Master of Public Health degree with concentrations in epidemiology and community health from the University of North Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health.

Dr. Martin is a frequent guest speaker across the country on a number of issues including the academic achievement gap, student athletes, race relations, leadership and organizational effectiveness, African American history, urban youth culture, economic mobility and poverty, and personal life skill strategies. He is the author of the forthcoming book, The Blessing of Our Burdens, which discusses his life of growing up in an impoverished, single-parent home in Louisiana, and offers six simple steps toward achieving lasting success.

Dr. Martin has given insightful and motivational speeches to numerous groups across the country. Some of Dr. Martin’s speech topics have included:

• Education Truly Is Freedom
• The Blessing of Our Burdens
• Average People, Exceptional Results
• You are Only Sixty Seconds Away From Victory
• The World Is Waiting To Feel Your Presence
• Many Races, One Humanity
• The Competitive Advantage of Experiencing Poverty
• Our Divine Purpose
• Surviving the Glorious Highs and the Devastating Lows of Life
• Success Is Only One Decision Away
• Be The Change You Wish To See In Others
• If You Believe: A Test of Your Endurance and Faith