Jorge Pereira Martinez

Jorge Pereira Martinez is a senior at Columbia College majoring in Political Science, with special concentrations in Public Health and Education Studies. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Jorge is a first-generation student whose passion for policy stems from personal experience — translating Medicaid forms for his grandmother and navigating underfunded public systems that often felt disconnected from the communities they were meant to serve. These early moments shaped his drive to understand and transform policy systems from the inside out.

Jorge has pursued cross-sector experiences that merge research, community advocacy, and strategic policy work. As an education intern at Bloomberg Philanthropies, he supported the grant renewal process for over 30 education organizations, analyzing program impact data, reviewing evaluation reports, and assessing alignment with funding goals focused on equity and access. As a uAspire New York Policy Fellow, Jorge conducted qualitative interviews and quantitative analysis on barriers to financial aid, ultimately presenting a policy proposal on Capitol Hill that aimed to simplify and expand access to FAFSA and Pell Grants.

His commitment to civic equity also extends to the local level. While working as an election clerk in Texas, Jorge advocated for voter access in a state known for suppressive laws, helping ensure that community members could cast their ballots fairly. He has also served as a mentor for other first-generation students and studied abroad in Spain, where he developed proposals for media literacy programs to address inequity in education systems.

Jorge is passionate about launching and advising initiatives that center around care, dignity, and opportunity, particularly for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. Whether in education, healthcare, or broader social policy, he seeks to build models that are community-driven, data-informed, and rooted in justice. He plans to pursue law and business school in the years to come to strengthen his ability to lead and support equity-focused efforts at scale.