Margaret Martin (born April 15, 1954) is the founder of the

Harmony Project The Harmony Project is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, that provides free music instruction and instruments to youth in underserved communities in LA and around the country. Programming c ...

and was awarded the

Presidential Citizens Medal The Presidential Citizens Medal is an award bestowed by the President of the United States. It is the second-highest civilian award in the United States and is second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Established by executive order on Nov ...

in 2011 by the President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

for her work on the project.

Career

She is the author of ''The Illustrated Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth'', which provides a simple way to understand the body of a woman, the development of a

fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal deve ...

in the

womb The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The uter ...

breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...

and other aspects of childbirth. She later published an update of her first book, entitled "Pregnancy & Childbirth: The Basic Illustrated Guide”. Dr. Martin is the author, composer, and lyricist of the musical ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Win ...

''. Martin has worked to provide arts education to thousands of children in under-resourced communities through

by enabling them to receive instruments and participate in musical mentoring and tuition-free

music lessons Music lessons are a type of formal instruction in playing a musical instrument or singing. Typically, a student taking music lessons meets a music teacher for one-to-one training sessions ranging from 30 minutes to one hour in length over a p ...

. Martin collaborates in neuroscience research into how music training affects the brains of students receiving the training. She serves as a member of the board of directors of the

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...

Foundation, a member of the

advisors An adviser or advisor is normally a person with more and deeper knowledge in a specific area and usually also includes persons with cross-functional and multidisciplinary expertise. An adviser's role is that of a mentor or guide and differs categor ...

and board of directors of D’Addario Foundation, and a member of the advisory board of Knowles Hearing Center.

Education

She completed a Masters of

Public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

(MPH) degree in 1993 and a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree in 1998 from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

Fielding School of Public Health. She is also an alumna of Los Angeles City College (1987–89).

Personal life

Martin has experienced both poverty and

prosperity Prosperity is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health. Competing notion ...

in her life. She is a mother to three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Margaret 1954 births Living people University of California, Los Angeles alumni Los Angeles City College alumni Presidential Citizens Medal recipients