MARTHA DIAZ
Gallatin School of Individualized Study
Master of Arts, May 2010
Specialization: Hip-Hop as a Tool for Media, Education, and Social Change
Bio and Resume (.pdf)
Martha Diaz is a mother, community organizer, educator, media producer, archivist, social entrepreneur, and the founder and president of the Hip-Hop Association (H2A). She is an award-winning leader who has been dedicated to elevating and innovating local communities through the power of Hip-Hop culture for over 15 years. Her impact can be traced to her early days as a young apprentice for the late Ted Demme, producer and director of the influential television show Yo! MTV Raps. Through her own production company, Akasha Entertainment, Martha implemented socially conscious projects and worked with a diverse list of clients such as: Hakuhodo Agency, SONY, Americans for the Arts, UNESCO, Black Filmmaker Foundation, International Music Council, UN-HABITAT, and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement.
Starting with the establishment of the Hip-Hop Odyssey (H2O) Film Festival, By mobilizing filmmakers, executives, activists, artists, and educators, Martha would form the award winning community building organization - Hip-Hop Association [H2A]. Starting with an idea of creating the Hip-Hop Odyssey [H2O] international film festival, Martha would also develop the Hip-Hop Education [H2Ed] initiative and other projects with the same strategy of activating and uniting the community. Now in its 7th year, the H2A is the recipient of the Union Square Arts Award and it's considered one of the leading international Hip-Hop institutions. The mission of the H2A is to facilitate social justice, education and media reform, cross-cultural understanding, economic sustainability, and civic engagement, while preserving Hip-Hop culture for scholarship and future generations. The H2A empowers the community through programming, youth and leadership development, human rights advocacy, educational resources, and distribution mechanisms.
Martha is the co-creator of the Hip-Hop Education Guidebook Series, and is releasing her second book entitled, Fresh, Bold and So Def: Women In Hip-Hop Changing The Game in September 2009. Through the Womanhood Learning Project initiative, Martha created the Ladies First Fund, the first grant for women in Hip-Hop dedicated to fostering the next generation of social entrepreneurs. She also launched H2ONewsreel, the first Hip-Hop media and education resource distribution label catering to the education market. Martha is Co-founder and Director of the Hip-Hop Education Center for Research, Training, and Evaluation, a partnership with the H2A and the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education Reform at NYU.
Martha has been invited to participate as a curator, speaker, moderator, and workshop facilitator at numerous arts and educational institutions, conferences, and social forums across the US and abroad, including: Hip-Hop and Social Change Conference, the Family and Community Violence Prevention National Conference, World Youth Forum, National Association for Latino Independent Producers Conference, NYC Council's Middle School Task Force, The Rose and Erwin S. Wolfson Center for National Affairs Speaker's Series, Hip-Hop Congress, Rap Sessions, Cultural Agents Initiative at Harvard University, and The Elizabeth Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum. Martha is completing her Master's Degree on Hip-Hop Culture as Tool for Human Rights and Social Change at the Gallatin School for Individualized Study at New York University. Martha is the recipient of the Catherine B. Reynolds Scholarship, Black Lily Emerging Leader Award, and Mary Chung Nia Award. She serves on the Younity Arts Advisory Board, The Laundromat Project Artist and Community Council, and is a Clinton Global Initiative University member.