Martha Sanchez

Martha serves as the Health Policy and Advocacy Director at Young Invincibles. Martha is a proud first generation immigrant from El Salvador, raised in Washington D.C. and Maryland. Prior to joining YI, she served as a health legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) where she helped introduce federal legislation to streamline the health care enrollment process, and focused on legislation to support youth with chronic conditions such as Sickle Cell Disease. Previously, Martha worked for five years in the U.S. House of Representatives, first serving as a caseworker in the district office of Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and then as a legislative assistant handling his Rules Committee, health, education, labor, and transportation portfolios.

Martha’s early advocacy career started in the immigrant rights space, where she advocated in support of higher education and economic opportunities, as well as a pathway to citizenship, for undocumented immigrants. In her junior year of college, Martha was fortunate to participate in YI’s first class of YI Scholars. It was through this fellowship that she focused on the intersection of immigration and health care access, and delved into the disparities and inequities present in the U.S. health care system.

Martha is a graduate of American University, where she majored in Interdisciplinary Studies: Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government.