Biography

Dr. Martha Acosta is a sought after speaker, facilitator, and expert in Human and Organizational Learning who helps leaders navigate the complexity of human systems in their strategy, culture and operations. Martha is the author of "Safety Capacity: Leadership Practices for Failing Safely." She is member of the HOP HUB Consortium with other thought leaders in the Human and Organizational Performance movement. Martha also represents Harvard Business Publishing (a subsidiary of Harvard Business School) as Senior HBR Facilitator who designs and teaches leadership development programs based on Harvard scholarship. Before joining Harvard, Martha led the Human Performance Improvement Team for the nuclear facilities at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), where she helped develop a national safety initiative for the Department of Energy and won LANL's Director's Achievement Award. Martha began her career in Silicon Valley helping fast-growing technology companies build the sales and support capacity needed to commercialize their innovative solutions. Later, she led the design and delivery of global leadership programs for a division of News International in the United Kingdom.

Martha models purpose-driven leadership by serving diverse communities as a director and trustee on non-profit boards. She serves as Secretary on the board of the LANL Foundation, which supports under-served students in Northern New Mexico. She also serves on the Executive Committee and chairs the Trustee and Governance, and Presidential Review Committees of St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland and Santa Fe, New Mexico, a historically and academically important college. She previously sat on the Board of Homewise, a non-profit affordable housing developer and mortgage bank. She is a Founding Member of Santa Fe County Professional Women for Good.

Martha earned her Doctorate in Human and Organizational Learning from The George Washington University in Washington D.C. Both her Master degrees (an MBA and an MA) were completed at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She completed a Post-Graduate Certificate in Instructional Systems Development at San Francisco State University. Her undergraduate studies included language, philosophy, math, and science. She graduated from St. John's College with a multidisciplinary Bachelor of Arts.

Martha lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she hikes, skis, and enjoys the many opportunities to engage in the arts and sciences.