By Tess Goldwasser
Martin is the RT’s representative to the ALA Task Force on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, of which he also happens to be co-chair. He’s served previously as the liaison to IFRT and as a juror for the Over the Rainbow list.
He is the head of research and instruction services at Regis University, a Jesuit school in Denver, CO. He’s worked there (in one capacity or another) since November 1996. He was the first librarian at his university to be promoted to the rank of full professor! What an honor! His professional passion is the centrality of intellectual freedom and ethics to all that we do. He says, “I believe our commitment to the free flow of information is our key contribution to society.” He says his goals are “to stay happy in my job, and to seek change only if it will help me grow and stay happy, not because everyone else thinks that promotion is the only indicator of success.” (AMEN!)
Martin has been with his husband Mark for either 8+, 7+, 1+, or 0.75 years, depending on whether you count the first date, wedding, the civil union, or the marriage. They live in Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood, with their impossibly cute miniature dachshunds Franklin and Francesca, but Martin would love to live near the ocean again. He says, “Denver’s lovely, but there are no beaches, and this New York transplant to the Mile High City will never forget his salty roots.” Martin loves to garden, cook, read, and hang out (and occasionally work out) at the gym. He was a contestant on Jeopardy in 2008 and is pleased with his 2nd place finish, especially since he was able to answer a question about Ned Flanders!
If he could be an animal, he would be a cat: “Smart, composed, mysterious, but also prone to random bursts of energy. Also, who wouldn’t want to be able to purr?”
If Martin could have a dinner party with five culturally or historically significant figures, he would invite May Sarton, Armistead Maupin, Helen Macfarlane, Bette Midler, and David Sedaris. (Wow! Can I come too?)
