Cassaundra Martinez

Cassaundra Martinez grew up in a very small town in Erin, Tennessee.  She served as Human Intelligence Collector for the Army Military Intelligence branch, deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom on a 15-month long tour, and attended French Language Studies at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California.  During this time, she continued her college education and her passion for understanding people, cultures, and organizations bloomed.  Cassaundra was honorably discharged after five years as a Sergeant and immediately took an assignment in Maryland working in Human Resources for the Department of Defense. 

Cassaundra completed an Associates in French, one year later a Bachelors of Science in Psychology with a Certificate in Applied Behavioral and Social Sciences, and only eighteen months later a Masters in Industrial and Organizational Psychology with a Graduate Certificate in Instructional Systems Design.  Since then Cassaundra has worked in nonprofit, private and government agencies in an Organizational Development or Human Resources Consulting capacity. 

Cassaundra is not only an Army Veteran, but also a military spouse.  She and her husband, First Sergeant Phillip Martinez have six crazy cute kids: Ariana (17), Ella (13), Noemi (6), twins Calais and Elise (4), and their son, Tobias (2).  The family loves spending time together – bowling, hiking, fishing, boating, swimming, etc.  There's never a dull moment!

Wherever Cassaundra has lived, she makes time to be an active volunteer in the community.  She is currently a Girl Scout Leader, Service Unit Welcome Specialist on Fort Belvoir, and serves on the Connections Team at National Community Church.  One of her heart strings is military spouses.  Cassaundra has felt deeply impacted by the military lifestyle and when she discovered the outrageous percentage of unemployed and underemployed military spouses, she formed a local women's group that holds monthly meetings.  Cassaundra's hope is to connect diverse women in the community, network, and support their small businesses through regular events. 

Looking towards the future, Cassaundra hopes the experiences and education as a Fellow at Dog Tag Bakery will allow her to explore the possibility of entrepreneurship and take her career to the next level, as well as provide her the tools to be able to positively impact her community on a grander scale.  Cassaundra looks forward to discovering more ways to support and enable military spouses to rise to their potential and gain fulfilling portable careers.