Basic Info
| First Name | Raydia |
| Last Name | Martin, Esq. |
| Username | AdvocateImpact |
Additional Contact Information
| Pronouns | she/her |
| Website |
Progressive Profile
| Current Employer | Advocate Impact |
| Current Occupation | Public Policy Advocacy Consultant |
| Tagline | I help nonprofits shape public policies that impact their communities. |
| Bio | I am a lawyer, public policy professional, and nonprofit consultant who founded Advocate Impact with a vision to help nonprofits tap into their full potential as agents of change. I am passionate about helping nonprofits understand their power to influence public policy, and my mission is to encourage them to become involved in the legislative process and push for evidence-based policy solutions to society’s most pressing social, economic, and public health issues. I began my public policy career as a legislative research consultant for two national nonprofits, Shared Hope International and Polaris Project, where my research was the basis of successful initiatives to strengthen anti-human trafficking laws, promote criminal justice reform, and protect vulnerable children in the child welfare system. In my role as Lead Public Policy Research Advisor at the Drake Institute of Research and Public Policy, I managed a team of researchers who conducted impact research on issues affecting women and wrote policy memos, policy briefs and fiscal notes educating legislators and urging them support or oppose relevant policies. Before launching Advocate Impact, I served as a legislative attorney for the Illinois Legislative Reference Bureau of the Illinois General Assembly, where I provided legal advice to legislators and drafted bills for introduction in the Illinois legislature. I received her Juris Doctorate from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and her Master’s of Social Work from Loyola University School of Social Work. |
| Impact | When I pivoted into consulting, one of my first clients was a Chicago-based nonprofit that provided free medical care to low-income families through its medical clinic. The founder was a doctor with many patients who had lost children to gun violence and suffered financial hardship from being unable to pay for funeral and burial expenses. He began raising money for families to pay for these expenses, all while he worked towards his greater goal — to create a state-funded program that would provide direct payments to funeral establishments on behalf of grieving families. The state had already established a victim’s compensation program, but it was marred by a burdensome application process and a months, even years-long wait for compensation, if any at all. Not to mention that the program only provided reimbursements, leaving families to take on enormous debt upfront while waiting for compensation that was not guaranteed. The founder approached me to write a bill that would establish an effective state program, and his successful advocacy led to the bill passing the Illinois House and Senate unanimously in the same session it was introduced! Thanks to this nonprofit founder, thousands of Illinois families can honor their loved ones without going into crippling debt. |
Work History
| Employer | Illinois Legislative Reference Bureau |
| Occupation | Staff Attorney |
| Employer | Drake Institute of Research and Public Policy |
| Occupation | Lead Research and Policy Advisor |
| Employer | Senator Kwame Raoul – Campaign for Attorney General |
| Occupation | Legislative Researcher |
| Employer | Shared Hope International |
| Occupation | Research & Policy Fellow |
| Employer | Polaris Project |
| Occupation | Legislative Research Consultant |
| Employer | John Howard Association |
| Occupation | Research & Policy Clerk |
Education
| School | Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Social Work |
| Degree | JD/MSW |
| Honors and Achievements | Juris Doctorate Masters in Social Work |
| School | Emory University |
| Degree | Bachelors of Arts |
| Honors and Achievements | English and Creative Writing |