October 14, 2025
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has selected Bree Martinez, a second-year Ph.D. student at the University of Washington School of Social Work, as one of its 2025 Health Policy Research Scholars (HPRS). HPRS is a leadership development program for doctoral students from historically marginalized backgrounds who can connect their lived experiences to their research and the advancement of health equity.
Martinez is a Mexican American scholar who earned a B.A. in cognitive science from University of California, Berkeley and an MSW focusing on children and family well-being from California State University, Long Beach. She brings valuable experience working as a school social worker and a substance-use clinician.
“My motivation to become an HPRS scholar stems from my commitment to supporting youth impacted by the child welfare and juvenile legal systems,” says Martinez. “I was drawn to the program’s focus on health equity, its emphasis on uplifting communities of color and its vision for a future where every person has the opportunity to thrive. Through HPRS, I will have the opportunity and resources to build the necessary skills to transform my research into actionable change through interdisciplinary collaboration. “
The HPRS fellowship program helps scholars establish and strengthen professional ties to public health and policy leaders, and provides training in health equity, policy process, leadership, communication, implementation and dissemination. It also grants an annual award of up to $30,000 for up to four years or until the scholar completes their doctoral program.
Martinez is the latest Ph.D. student from the UW School of Social Work to join the HPRS program. Fellow classmate Juliann Li Verdugo joined HPRS last year as part of the 2024 cohort, and Santino Camacho completed the fourth and final year of his HPRS fellowship in 2025.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the largest U.S. philanthropic organization dedicated exclusively to health, and is renowned for its contributions to health care access, public health initiatives, health equity and systemic change. Its notable achievements include the development of the 911 emergency system, efforts to reduce tobacco use and lowering rates of teenage pregnancies.