Born during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, Edwina Frances Martin, 57, says she’s not sure if she chose her career, or it chose her.
Growing up in what she describes as a close-knit, very religious, large extended family in Maryland, Martin — one of five children — said her parents, Alice and Fletcher Martin, always made sure their children were “very grounded.”
“My parents instilled in us a strong sense of family, and doing the right thing. They made us understand the importance of paying if forward, and leaving the world in a better place than you found it. And, so, those are my operating principles…very much established by my parents,” said Martin, noting her father was a computer analyst and economist for the U.S. government.
Photo by Staten Island Advance/Jason Paderon