Martha Isabel Zapata, PhD | President and CEO:

Martha is a native of Colombia and a Tulsa resident since 1998. In Colombia, she practiced as an organizational psychologist and owned a consulting firm providing human resource services to national and international corporations. Martha worked in the nonprofit sector in the United States from 2002 to 2009 and in academia from 2010 to 2020.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she founded The UMA Center Inc. (aka UMA Tulsa) to provide physical and mental health and small business development education and technical assistance to Spanish speakers, Latinx people, immigrants, and refugees. The organization served over 3,500 people in 2023.

In 2023, UMA Tulsa received the Gracias Award for Community Service from the Coalition of Hispanic Organizations and the Boomtown Award to an Outstanding Community Organization from the TYPROS, and organization of the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce. 

Martha holds a master's degree in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Oklahoma and a doctoral degree in Human Sciences from Oklahoma State University. During her academic career, she authored over 20 peer-reviewed manuscripts with diverse researchers. In 2024, Martha received the Pinnacle Award for Community Service from the YWCA and the City of Tulsa's Women's Commission.

Find Martha on LinkedIn @ www.linkedin.com/in/drzapata