JONATHAN MARTINEZ

Presenter Bio

JONATHAN MARTINEZ, Senior Director for Law and Policy

Jonathan Martinis is the Senior Director for Law and Policy for the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University, leading it's efforts to ensure that older adults and people with disabilities have access to the services and supports they need to lead independent, inclusive lives.

In 2013, Jonathan represented Margaret “Jenny” Hatch in the “Justice for Jenny” case – the first trial to hold that a person has the right to use Supported Decision-Making to make her own life choices instead of being subjected to a permanent, plenary guardianship. Since then, Jonathan has led SDM projects in New York, Nebraska, Ohio, California, Virginia, Vermont, Missouri, and Kansas. He has also educated and trained tens of thousands of older adults, people with disabilities, families, and professionals across the country on SDM theory and practice.  Jonathan has written or co-written over 60 publications on SDM, including the first textbook and first theory-to-practice guidebook on the subject. 

RESOURCES