Martha Ross
Special Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
Biography
Martha Ross is the Special Assistant to the CEO of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). She opened the OHA Washington, D.C. Bureau in February 2003, serving as the first DC Bureau Chief through 2009. She advocated with federal officials and others at the national level for issues important to Native Hawaiians. From 1996 - 2003, Martha served at OHA as Deputy Administrator, Trustee Aide and Chief of Staff to the Board of Trustees. OHA, established through Hawai'i State Constitution and Hawai'i voters in 1978, is a unique, independent state agency with elected Trustees who oversee the Native Hawaiian trust and lead the mission to better conditions of Native Hawaiians.
Prior to OHA, she served as Executive Director of the Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women, managed medical-legal services and assisted with government and community liaison work at the Sex Abuse Treatment Center, taught bachelors and masters level courses on issues of sexual assault, domestic violence, crime victims and the criminal justice system, authored and co-authored published reports and articles, conducted trainings with police, judges, attorneys and other professionals, co-founded the first support groups for battered women in Hawai‘i, and advocated for crime victims and witnesses as a counselor with the department of the Honolulu Prosecutor.
A long time advocate for social justice, she has a Masters in Social Work from the University of Hawai'i and a Bachelors Degree in Social Welfare from the Pennsylvania State University. She is a member of Ke Ali‘i Maka‘Δinana Hawaiian Civic Club and the League of Woman Voters of Hawai‘i. Her home is Waimanalo, Hawai‘i.
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