The Council for Intercultural Engagement has bolstered its leadership with the addition of Danilda Martinez as its vice-chair.
Professor of Urban Christian Ministry Studies Dr. Terriel Byrd chairs the council, which is in its second year. The council exists to foster a climate of trust and respect as it helps students, faculty and staff think differently about various cultures and diversity. Byrd described Martinez as a “creative thinker” who is culturally aware and ready to lead the council in a transformational direction.
“She fully captures the spirit of the ‘beloved community’ and has both the knowledge and passion for issues of diversity and equity,” Byrd said. “Her aim is that the PBA family embrace willingly, and more deeply, the unity of our calling, to be a more perfect union.”
Martinez is assistant professor of digital media production in the College of the Arts and a 2006 alumna of Palm Beach Atlantic. She joined the PBA faculty in 2016. She earned her Master of Arts from Regent University and completed additional studies at Marymount College of Fordham University.
She expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to serve the university in the new role.
“PBA is a place where everyone, no matter the race or culture, should feel welcome and seen,” Martinez said. “I pray that the work of Council for Intercultural Engagement would foster a sense of belonging for all who have at one time or another felt the reality of being ‘other’ in a new space. We were created, fearfully and wonderfully, in His image. Let’s labor to honor the complexity of God’s image through validating, embracing and celebrating each other’s diversity and differences.”
Learn more about the council’s work here.
