Edwin Martinez

2025 Milestone Achievement Award Recipient

Co-Founder and Executive Director, Dentro Sanar

Edwin Martinez is a community-rooted mental health leader working to reimagine healing outside of traditional systems. A first-generation Latino-American and first-generation master’s graduate, Edwin draws on his lived experience and cultural heritage to create spaces of restoration, resilience, and care for Chicago’s southwest neighborhoods.

Since graduating from the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice in 2015, Edwin has served in various roles including case manager, youth outreach specialist, mental health therapist, and supervisor. Across each of these roles, his mission has remained constant: to walk alongside individuals and families as they heal, grow, and thrive.

Edwin is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Dentro Sanar, a community-based organization serving the neighborhoods of Gage Park, Brighton Park, South Lawndale (Little Village), and Back of the Yards. Grounded in violence prevention, restorative justice, and mutual aid, Dentro Sanar offers a people-centered alternative to traditional mental health models.

Born and raised in Chicago with family roots in Guerrero, Mexico, Edwin is a fluent Spanish speaker and a powerful advocate for culturally affirming care. Through collaborative leadership and a deep commitment to community healing, he is helping to shape a more just and compassionate approach to mental health care—one that honors dignity, voice, and belonging.