w.h.a.m.: courtney e. martin

Courtney
photo via

A freelance journalist, author, teacher, filmmaker and web entrepreneur, Courtney E. Martin has been dubbed “one of our most insightful culture critics and one of our finest young writers” by Parker Palmer.  Her books and articles have covered topics ranging from 9/11 to eating disorders to activism to perfectionism.  She regularly writes for The New York Times, GOOD, The Christian Science Monitor, Poets & Writers, The Village Voice, Glamour, Mother Jones Publishers Weekly, and The American Prospect, among others.  She has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, The Today Show and The O'Reilly Factor. 

with business partner Vanessa Valenti
photo via

Martin is the leader of the  Op-Ed Project’s Public Voices Fellowship Program at Princeton University, which helps women academics become part of public debate.  She is also partner in Valenti Martin Media, a communications consulting firm focused on making social justice organizations more effective in movement building and making change with fellow feministing contributor, Vanessa Valenti.   

Courtney at the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls
photo via

Martin speaks publicly several times a year at conferences and campuses nationwide. She is a recipient of the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics and studied sociology and political science at Barnard College and later received her Master's from New York University's Gallatin School in writing and social change. She lives in Brooklyn, New York where she can be found walking in Prospect Park, eating overpriced sushi and, according to her website, "creating unselfconscious dance parties with her amazing friends."

*factual content found here, here, and here

**this post is part of the Women's History All Month (w.h.a.m.) series on the blog.  Check back all month for more women profiled.