Joann Martin teaches English and Academic Decathlon at North High School, a Title I school in urban Phoenix. Her AP English Literature and Composition class is a dual enrollment class, partnering with Maricopa Community Colleges. She earned her National Board Certification in 2017. She is a fellow in the Teachers for Global Classrooms program, spending several weeks in 2015 on an international field experience in urban and rural schools in the Philippines. She has participated as a partner teacher in the International Leaders in Education Program, hosting English teachers from Senegal, India, Morocco, Indonesia and Malaysia. She spends countless hours helping her students, many of whom are first generation college students, grapple with global issues, raise their literacy to college level and register for college classes. Coaching the North High Academic Decathlon team, her students have the opportunity to study history, art and economics of countries such as Russia and India. She holds two Masters of Arts degrees, one in English and the other in Curriculum and Instruction. She is a fellow in the Northern Arizona and Central Arizona Writing Projects and a board member for the Arizona English Teachers Association. She has presented professional development sessions in small schools, colleges and conferences across the state. Martin was also the North Alumni Association Bud Brown Mentor of the Year for 2010/2011. In the fall of 2014, she represented the state of Arizona as the AETA High School Teacher of Excellence. She is a dedicated mother and loves to travel with her husband. She is especially interested in national parks and global archaeological sites such as Tulum, Olympia and Herculaneum.