After decades of leading teams in Special Olympics Panamá and Latin America, Iris Mercedes Martinez could have stepped away from leadership. Instead, she chose to invest in the next generation of leaders. She joined Special Olympics after an illustrious career in sales & marketing.
During her time within the organization, Martinez applied and attended Leadership Academy. To her, this wasn't simply another training program. It became an opportunity to combine a lifetime of professional expertise with a deeply personal purpose of helping others become stronger leaders.
Throughout her career with Special Olympics Latin America, Martinez traveled to nearly every country in the region, helping local Programs strengthen fundraising, marketing, communications, and leadership. "That gave me the opportunity to share all my expertise, especially in sales and marketing, to train the local Programs," she said. "It also gave me the opportunity to share with athletes, their families, and be in direct contact with the organization." Leadership Academy helped her translate that experience into practical leadership tools she continues to use today. That ripple effect is exactly what Leadership Academy was designed to create—leaders who don't simply develop themselves, but who develop others.
Even after retiring, Martinez wasn't ready to stop contributing.
She continued her engagement by joining the Alumni Leadership Network (ALN)—a platform that gives retired staff and staff who have transitioned after years of service the opportunity to stay involved with the movement. At first, she wasn't sure it applied to her.
"I said, 'Remember, I am formally retired,'" she laughed. "But when I realized it was an opportunity to volunteer, I said, 'I love that.'"
Through ALN, Martinez was invited to contribute to Leadership Academy as a facilitator. As a former Academy participant herself, she brings a unique understanding of what the experience is like on the other side of the podium. She works especially closely with Special Olympics Latin America, where her fluency in the language and deep institutional knowledge of the region make her contribution especially valuable—precisely the kind of connection ALN is designed to create between experienced leaders and the Programs that can benefit from them.
"They call me or send me a message asking, 'Iris, are you available to host a seminar or workshop on communications, leadership, or financial sustainability for the organization?'"
Now, after a year and a half as part of ALN, she can say, "my biggest satisfaction comes from seeing on social media how the participants of some local Programs are already applying the tools they learned."
That's what makes ALN so valuable. Leadership doesn't end when a person retires, and it doesn't end when the Academy concludes. Through ALN, graduates and veteran leaders alike can stay connected to a global community, share ideas, solve challenges together, and help one another grow.
Martinez believes that ongoing connection is what keeps leaders engaged and strengthens the movement.
"If you want to continue strengthening ALN," Martinez said, "people need to stay connected, keep learning, and join activities together. That maintains the passion."
Leadership Academy helped Martinez discover new leadership tools. ALN has given her a place to keep using—and now teaching—them.
And in doing so, she continues to leave exactly the legacy she hoped for: not through a single accomplishment, but by empowering leaders across the Special Olympics movement to create impact long after her own time in the Academy ended.
