Graduate Students
Sirrina Martinez
CV
CONTACT INFORMATION
Email
Office: CIS 3049
BIOGRAPHY
Sirrina Martinez is a second-year PhD student at the ÐÜèAVÃâ·Ñ in the Department of Communication. Her research is situated at the intersection of organizational and health communication, where she is interested in how military organizations and veterans organizations, such as the Veterans Administration, communicate about health topics among members, organizational leadership, and healthcare providers. Her research at times extends into interpersonal communication, exploring how service members and veterans (SMVs) navigate intersectional stigma, manage reproductive health challenges such as infertility, pregnancy and/or family building in uniform, and similar topics. She also explores how SMVs negotiate relational and system trust within these organizations. Additionally, her work investigates the formation of informal solidarity networks within military structures in a Post-DEI landscape. Reproductive health policy and communication in these spaces is at the center of her current work. Her passion for examining the equity of health and benefits policy for all service members and veterans is what drives her research.
Sirrina received her master’s degree in communication & media studies from South Dakota State University, a Bachelor of Science in digital media and broadcasting from Southwest Minnesota State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in public relations from Southwest Minnesota State University. A veteran with over 23 years of service, Sirrina is a graduate of the Defense Information School and has worked in community and public affairs in both civilian and military capacities. Outside of the department, she is currently working as a research assistant in the I-HEAL program at the James A. Haley VA in Tampa.
RESEARCH AREAS
Organizational communication; health communication; reproductive health policy; interpersonal communication; gender and identity; intersectional stigma; intersectionality; stigma
ADVISOR
Steven Wilson