Marta Angélica Mercado-Sierra

Marta Angélica Mercado-Sierra is an associate professor at the Orien Levy Woolf School of Social Work at Texas Woman’s University. With a career spanning three decades, Marta Angélica has dedicated herself to addressing and dismantling gender oppression and discrimination through advocacy, program development and evaluation, nonprofit management, public administration, grant writing, policy analysis, research, and teaching in higher education. She has also recently served on advisory boards for gender and women’s studies and LGBTQ, as well as on diversity, equity, and inclusion committees, and on a Latino interests committee in academia.

Marta Angélica’s journey began in Puerto Rico, where she co-founded Casa de la Bondad, Inc. in 1994, a shelter dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic violence. She served as executive director from 1997 to 2001. Her leadership extended to community service, playing a crucial role as fiscal agent and board member of Coordinadora Paz para la Mujer, Inc., Puerto Rico’s coalition against domestic violence and sexual assault. Additionally, she contributed her expertise as a volunteer consultant for the Organización Puertorriqueña de la Mujer Trabajadora, a feminist organization, and Hogar Padre Bernard, which provided services to the homeless community in Old San Juan. She also trained leaders at Casa de Amor, Fe y Esperanza Church in Puerto Rico.

In 2008, Marta Angélica was appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico as Procuradora de las Mujeres (Women’s Advocate), following her significant contributions to developing institutional policies and programmatic structures to protect women’s rights at the newly established government agency between 2001 and 2007. Her nomination was supported by numerous women’s service and feminist organizations, recognizing her unwavering commitment to women’s safety, well-being, and development. She led efforts to advocate for related public policies and oversee their implementation as Women’s Advocate. During her tenure, she chaired the Puerto Rico Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and the Interagency Commission for the Development of a Comprehensive Public Policy on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Intervention, served on the Batterer Re-education Council, and held a vice-presidential position at the Regional Conference on Women of Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC, United Nations. Her work was instrumental in implementing innovative initiatives such as incorporating a gender perspective in public education, though short-lived.

After nearly 20 years of professional service in Puerto Rico, Marta Angélica transitioned to an academic position in Texas, where she has continued her advocacy and leadership in the fight for gender equity. She has been involved with the Latino Association of Staff and Faculty at Texas A&M University-Commerce, the Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education, the Council on Social Work Education, and the Women’s Equity and Rights Committee of the National Association of Social Workers-Texas Chapter.

In both her professional and academic roles, she leverages her extensive experience and collaborations to secure funding, having raised over $20 million for initiatives aimed at preventing gender-based violence, fostering student success, and promoting social justice. Her research, publications, and presentations focus on gender-based violence, microaggressions, health disparities, social development, and educational equity, always viewed through an intersectional, human rights, and transformational lens.

Marta Angélica holds a bachelor’s degree in social work, a master’s degree in supervision and management of human services, and a doctorate in Public Policy Analysis and Administration from the University of Puerto Rico. Her dissertation, supported by two fellowships, explored gender equity in educational policies in Puerto Rico. Her passion for her homeland and her commitment to building an equitable and just society continue to inspire her work beyond her campus and local community.