Christi Martin

Christi leads Martin Consulting Group and serves as a formal advisor to Empower Schools in Texas. She brings thirty years’ experience in education policy and school law. In her prior role as senior advisor to the Texas Commissioner of Education, Christi oversaw implementation of statewide education initiatives including the state’s first early college high schools, supplemental funding for strategic educator compensation, residency-based teacher preparation programs, and public-private partnerships. In her roles as senior program officer and deputy director for at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she managed investments in a portfolio of states and coordinated K-12 and postsecondary policy priorities.  

Christi holds a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law and M.A. and B.A. degrees in political science from the University of Houston. A first-generation college student, Christi has focused her career on broadening opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.