Lorea Martinez

Dr. Lorea Martínez Pérez is the award-winning founder of HEART in Mind, a company dedicated to helping individuals and organizations strengthen professional well-being and resilience by developing adult capacity. An educator who has trained adults internationally, Dr. Martínez has served as a faculty member at Columbia University Teachers College, educating leaders in Emotional Intelligence.

Over the last decade, Dr. Martínez has become known for translating rigorous research into tools people can actually use. Her mission is to help adults build the HEART skills and habits that reduce reactivity, strengthen relationships, and create healthier communities—whether that community is a classroom, a leadership team, or a workplace.

She created the HEART in Mind model, a signature methodology for developing social and emotional competence, and has trained hundreds of adults through communities of practice. With a global presence, she has led keynotes, workshops, and professional learning in the United States, Chile, Mexico, India, Portugal, Spain, and beyond. She has also supported organizations and education-focused companies in integrating emotional intelligence into programs and products.

Dr. Martínez began her career as a special education teacher and education administrator. She holds a PhD in Quality and Innovation in Education from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and has advanced certifications in emotional intelligence. Her first book, Teaching with the HEART in Mind, has reached over 10,000 educators worldwide and was named a 2021 Favorite Book for Educators by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. Her research and writing have appeared in outlets including Educational Leadership, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Journal of Character Education, and International Journal of Emotional Education, among others, and her work continues to focus on building adult well-being and relational capacity.

Raised in the Costa Brava, Spain, Dr. Martínez now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two daughters. Outside of her work, she is an avid hiker and a mindfulness practitioner.