Tabitha R. Martinez, M. Ed, Cpre is a Director at City of Hopewell. She possess expertise in leadership, powerpoint, public speaking, event planning, healthcare and 20 more skills. Colleagues describe her as "Tabitha Martinez, Certified Parks and Recreation Professional, is an extremely skilled, knowledgeable, and motivated individual who currently serves as the Recreation Programs Manager with the City of Hopewell. I have had the pleasure of working directly with Tabitha over the course of several years on a variety of projects, programs, and initiatives. She always brings a positive attitude to the workplace and is a dynamic team leader. She’s never afraid to get in the trenches and roll her sleeves up, often working late hours, evenings, and weekends to get the job done. She is no stranger to personal sacrifice and remains mission-focused at all times. I’ve watched her build incredibly strong relationships with other departments and community organizations. During her tenure with Hopewell, she has been recognized as VRPS’s Outstanding New Professional and was selected to participate at the NRPA Annual Conference as an extern of the American Academy of Parks and Recreation Administration. She is one of the most dependable people I’ve ever worked with and extremely self-aware. She is constantly striving to expand her knowledge base and remains motivated for success. I can always count on her to be a sounding board for new ideas and trust that her feedback will always been genuine and strategic. I simply can’t say enough good things about Tabitha as a person, a professional, and as a colleague. She is a true leader in the field and a one-of-a-kind professional.", "Tabitha Martinez worked with the Office of Multicultural Services at the University of Lynchburg as a Summer Transition Program (STP) peer counselor when she was an undergraduate student leader at the University. In this role, Ms. Martinez was responsible for serving as a role model, advisor, and mentor to a group of incoming first year students from a diverse array of backgrounds including ethnic and racial groups, first generation college students as well as first generation Americans, international students, students from all ranges of socio-economic backgrounds, and a wide array of students representing marginalized social groups. STP is a five-day early arrival bridge program that allows students to arrive on campus earlier than the incoming freshman class in order to better acclimate to our community. Intentional programming introduces the new students to the resources available to help them be successful at the University and our peer counselors, as Ms. Martinez did, lead the student in both small group and large group team-building exercises, dialogues and discussions, and facilitate many of the scheduled programs and events scheduled during STP. Ms. Martinez was selected for this position through an application and interview screening process due to her strong academic record, character, integrity, community and campus engagement, and based on leadership qualities. Peer counselors are not automatically rehired year to year, they must go through the rehired process annually and are evaluated not only by their supervisor but also by their peers. Ms. Martinez received high marks through both assessments. She was a responsible, mature, and dependable leader. Her pleasant attitude and ability to interact with a diverse group of people as well as her strong communication skills were assets in this role. She was also positive, able to manage any type of situation that came up responsibly, and handled confidential matters professionally. She was an asset to our program and to our students. Annette Stadtherr, Director of Multicultural Services, Office of Equity and Inclusion, University of Lynchburg 1501 Lakeside Drive, Lynchburg, VA 24501 tele: 434.544.8338 email: Stadtherr@lynchburg.edu", and "I have worked with Tabitha before on various projects and events. She is wonderful to work with, thorough, and works well in a team environment and autonomously. Steve Hixon Henrico County"