Jacob Martinez (Oakes ’04, evolutionary biology)

Jacob Martinez (Oakes ’04) earned his degree in evolutionary biology from UC Santa Cruz. He spent nearly ten years running a successful program funded by the National Science Foundation, encouraging underrepresented youth to study computer science. Then in 2014, Martinez founded Digital NEST, a technology workforce development hub that provides youth in rural communities with high-demand technology skills, mentoring, and hands-on experience so they can secure well-paying jobs. NEST stands for Nurturing Entrepreneurial Skills with Technology. Since its founding in 2014, it has expanded with locations in Watsonville, Salinas, Gilroy, Modesto, and Stockton.

Prior, Martinez was a 2020 recipient of The James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award and a 2018 Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Entrepreneur Fellow. Martinez currently sits on the board of Santa Cruz Works, Center for Rural Innovation, serves as an External Advisor to the Chancellor of UCSC, and is on the advisory council for the Aspen Institute Technology Accountability Coalition.