Today we’d like to introduce you to Damaris Martin.
Hi Damaris, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always known that I wanted to directly impact people’s lives and my personal experiences have set me on teaching and counseling path. In the future, I would love to influence another generation of people. I was born and raised in Central America at a military hospital in Panama which is not an island but an isthmus that has the flattened shape of a letter S.
The Panama Canal is one of the largest undertaken engineering projects. My mother was number two of eight girls which is quite a large family of mostly women, my lineage is Caribbean starting from my maternal grandparents who were from San Andres Columbia and Barbados and their parents from Germany and Caiman Islands, so our heritage is rich, and I am very proud of my lineage.
So, I am a Black Latina or Afro Latina as most people would see fit to say. Panamanians are the Bridge of the world hart of the universe (“Puente del Mundo Corazon del Universo”). Coming from a place like this quiet naturally, I gravitate to the idea of people. I love to coin the phrase Bridging the gap because the analogy is simple: a bridge unites two stretches or more of land, cultures, places, people, or circumstances.
It has not been easy being me, who I am often is taken as face value “literally.” They see a black woman first because of my ethnic features and skin, then they hear my accents and a fluent second language- Spanish, and that trips them up.
For some black women I am not “really black”, so they remove or discount our sisterhood, and for my Hispanic sisters, my blackness makes them uneasy because they think my lineage is too diverse and black.
I have heard so much of “She is not one of us,” for so long that judgment either good or bad crippled me into believing that I was not good enough to achieve my goals, and it did not matter what I did; others were going to discount me. Then I found my place, and I found a way to help people.
It is what makes me walk taller, work harder, and love with intensity to achieve better for the next young generation of people that I will serve, and so that is why “My brand is people” of any color, race, age, gender, or creed.
Working for a non-profit organization as a Career Specialist gives me joy each day I go to work and it is simply because I like to help people, I like to talk to people, to know what their interests are.
I like to meet people where they are and pull their potential out of their belly, their brain, and breath and have a conversation on how they can begin to shape what is in them to be divinely manifested.
In summing up 20 years of professional experiences in fields as a Bilingual Elementary and Highschool Teacher, a Career Specialist, Social Services Case Manager or as a Financial Counselor it leads me back to a I simple role, an advocate for people. “My Brand is People”.
I stopped given others the ability to define me without knowing my story I am both Latina and Black, and I am Woman.
I have arrived to seek a seat at the table of the American Dream. And to have a conversation with others about why it is important as a people of diversity in colors and cultures to fulfill that assignment.
I have finally found my voice and my place. “My Brand is People”.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has not been easy being me, who I am often is taken as face value “literally.”
They see a black woman first because of my ethnic features and skin, then they hear my accents and a fluent second language- Spanish, and that trips them up.
For some black women I am not “really black”, so they remove or discount our sisterhood, and for my Hispanic sisters, my blackness makes them uneasy because they think my lineage is too diverse and black.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Working for a non-profit organization as a Career Specialist gives me joy each day I go to work and it is simply because I like to help people, I like to talk to people, to know what their interests are.
What sets me apart is my ability to meet people where they are and have a conversation on how they can begin to shape what is in them to be divinely manifested.
In summing up 20 years of professional experiences in fields as a Bilingual Elementary and Highschool Teacher, a Career Specialist, Social Services Case Manager or as a Financial Counselor it leads me back to a I simple role, an advocate for people.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I have learned is not to let circumstances define my next move and to use my voice to speak about change.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Panamadoll31
