Cynthia Martinez

As Associate Director (AD) for the Natural Hazards Mission Area, Ms. Martinez leads USGS hazards planning and response activities. She also oversees the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources, Earthquake Hazards, Global Seismographic Network, Geomagnetism, Landslide Hazards, and Volcano Hazards programs.

Ms. Martinez came to the USGS from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where she served as Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System. She began her career in 1993 with the Fish and Wildlife Service, in Ecological Services in the Phoenix, AZ, office before moving to the Southern Nevada Field Office in Las Vegas, NV. Ms. Martinez was the manager of Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Las Vegas prior to her move to the broader National Wildlife Refuge System. She came to the National Wildlife Refuge System headquarters in Washington, D.C. in September 2010, as chief of the Division of Visitor Services and Communications. There, she led the process for developing a renewed vision for the growth and management of the Refuge System, and served as deputy chief from 2012 to 2015. Ms. Martinez has a bachelor’s degree in general biology from New Mexico State University and a master’s degree in fisheries and wildlife science from the University of Arizona.