Seasoned business professional with deep experience across private, public and non-profit sectors.
To whom much is given, much is required.
About Me
An investor, philanthropist, and public servant. Edwards believes “to whom much is given, much is required.” Edwards was recognized as the first African-American female trading broker for Merrill Lynch on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2004, often executing volatile stock orders of more than $50MM in daily trading value. At the time, she was also identified as the only actively trading African-American woman seatholder among its then 1,366 members.
Edwards now serves as Chief of Strategic Partnerships at Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE), whose mission is to provide community economic development to underserved people and communities. Previously Martina was Vice-President, Corporate Partnerships for Points of Light - the world’s largest global organization dedicated to volunteer service, putting people at the center of change. Prior to Points of Light, Edwards was Senior Director, Alternative Investments & Alumni programs for Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) - a New York based non-profit with a 50-year history of providing talented and motivated young people from underserved and underrepresented communities with access to educational and career opportunities. She bore responsibility for the growth in scale and scope of the alternative investments platform through strategic partnerships and events, as well as stakeholder engagement.
An experienced banking professional and non-profit leader, Edwards was also a Vice-President with Merrill Lynch at the NYSE. Post graduate school, she joined US Trust, the private banking arm of Bank of America as a Private Client Manager. In this role, she collaborated with business partners to find solutions to grow, manage, and preserve the assets of emerging wealth clients. Prior to SEO, she served in a dual capacity as Interim Executive Director and Director of Finance for a Kaplan Higher Education career college and consulted with regional campuses on strategic operations.
Edwards enthusiastically serves as a member of the Leadership Council for Junior Achievement of Georgia, the Advisory Board for Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership and the board for Atlanta Beltline 67. She is also a 2017 Fellow of New Leaders Council Atlanta. She is passionate about effecting change, including economic development, women’s empowerment, financial literacy/education and community resiliency. She holds a B.S. in Finance from Tuskegee University and an MBA from UNC, Kenan-Flagler Business School, where she completed an exchange at the University of Witswaterand in Johannesburg, South Africa and global immersions in India and Mexico. A native of Alabama, Edwards now resides in Georgia with her husband and two sons. She enjoys traveling, reading, and outdoor events and activities.
Key Accomplishments and Activities
In 2004, I was promoted to become the first African-American female broker on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange for Merrill Lynch in its entire history.
Key Awards and Achievements
Pioneer Award - Atlanta Tuskegee Alumni Club, Inc. (2019)
Atlanta Woman of Distinction - The March of Dimes of Georgia (2018)
Highlights and Affiliations
Featured on Privcap.com online video segment – “How to Build a Diverse Private Equity Firm?”
Advisory Board Member – Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership
2017 Fellow - Atlanta New Leaders Council
Leadership Council - Junior Achievement of Georgia
Volunteer Involvement Program (VIP) - United Way of Greater Atlanta
Women’s Diversity Workstream - National Association of Investment Co./American Investment Council
Graduate – Real Estate Associate Program (REAP), NYC - 2006
Education
B.S. Finance
Tuskegee University
2001
M.B.A.
University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School
2008
Professional Skills
COMMUNICATION AND PRESENTATION SPECIALIST
Extensive professional experience communicating sophisticated and innovative concepts to myriad audiences
EFFECTIVE MANAGER OF PEOPLE, PROCESSES, AND RELATIONSHIPS
Proven success in motivating, leading and supervising teams while appropriately communicating progress to senior management; Successfully planned, budgeted, and executed conferences, fund-raising campaigns
Cultivate extensive networks in the finance and non-profit communities which ultimately benefit bottom line
FINANCE AND OPERATIONS EXPERT
Successful careers across sales & trading, capital markets (leveraged finance) and wealth management
STRATEGIC THINKER
Leverage qualitative and analytical skills to produce innovative solutions, improve outcomes, and solve business challenges
Select Media Coverage
WABE - Closer Look
Atlanta Business Chronicle
CNN Business
South Fulton Lifestyle Magazine
Atlanta Business Journal
Atlanta Business Chronicle
Access to Capital Announcement
CAPBuilder Talk
1380 WAOK
Atlanta Business Journal Radio
My Broker Story
“The best wrestler is not he who has learned thoroughly all the tricks and twists of the art, which are seldom met with in actual wrestling, but he who has well and carefully trained himself in one or two of them, and watches keenly for an opportunity of practising them.”
I am Martina Marshall-Edwards, Broker #879. In 2004, I became the only African American female broker on the New York Stock Exchange.
After majoring in finance at Tuskegee University in 2001, I left my roots in Alabama to embark upon a career in sales and finance at Merrill Lynch. It was a whirlwind for me working in a dynamic, fast-paced, male-dominated environment with high stakes trading activity, a steep learning curve, and little to no room for error. After three years the Head of the Floor for Merrill Lynch told me that he thought I had the wherewithal to become a broker; I was quite nervous about this generally. I would later learn that it would ultimately designate me as a historic first - the 1st African American female broker for Merrill Lynch on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and only active African-American woman seatholder among its then 1,366 members. (Before the NYSE became public in 2006, individuals and companies had to either purchase or lease a seat to serve as a broker).
You can imagine this was quite a humbling title for a young overachiever from Montgomery, Alabama. Of course, with great success, comes great responsibility.
What I am most proud of during my time at the NYSE was advocating for a mock trading night for about 70 Scholars from SEO. Access, exposure, and mentorship are factors when considering the dearth of underrepresented talent on Wall Street. I believe firmly that talent is broadly distributed, but not always evenly developed. I am thankful to God for the opportunity to get plugged in to Sponsors for Educational Opportunity- the chief provider of diverse talent to wall street for high-achieving students of color - which helped me get my foot into the door of Wall Street nearly 20 years ago.
My professional journey has taken me to many places from Merrill Lynch, to business school, to US Trust. One of the most fulfilling roles I have ever served in was as SEO’s Senior Director, Alternative Investments Program, hosting conferences in NYC with allocators of capital for emerging managers and managing an Alternative Investment Fellows program designed to help underrepresented first and second year investment banking analysts more effectively compete for roles in private equity.
Today, I manage corporate partnerships for a global non-profit organization founded by former president George H. W. Bush and have a passion for economic empowerment, financial literacy and inclusion.
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