Ada Martin was born and raised in New York City but has lived in Arizona for decades and has spent over 20 years working in higher education in either an administrative, instructional, or instructional design capacity. Before working at ASU, she worked as a Curriculum Development Manager and served as adjunct faculty in the College of Humanities at the University of Phoenix. Ada earned her undergraduate degree in Spanish from Arizona State University and her Master's in Education from the University of Phoenix.
Ada previously served as the 2021-2022 President of ASU's Chicano/Latino Faculty and Staff Association.