Maria Portela Martinez, MD, MPH
Maria Portela Martinez, MD, MPH
Chief of Medical Training and Geriatrics Branch
Health Resources Services Administration
Through her work at HRSA, Dr. Portela, a family physician, leads efforts to re-envision primary care training focused on transforming health care delivery systems aimed at improving access, quality of care and cost-effectiveness. Dr. Portela currently provides clinical services at Unity Health Care, a Federally Qualified Health Center in DC and is a Leaders in Health Equity Fellow at George Washington University.
While pursuing medical school training in her native Puerto Rico, she shared in the development of an assessment on the health and education sectors for President Obama’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Economic Development. Subsequently, she pursued residency training at Duke, and completed the Commonwealth Fund Mongan Fellowship in Minority Health Policy at Harvard, where she obtained her master’s degree.
Dr. Portela has taken diverse leadership roles and has served in Health Equity local, state and national boards and committees. Dr. Portela has been exposed to different health care delivery systems, which provided her a domestic and international policy context around health care. She is passionate about increasing access and quality of health care services to vulnerable populations, and about mentorship, diversity, and inclusion. She is recently married and enjoys cooking with her husband, Aram, and playing with her dog, Maya.