Edward Martin is a PhD candidate in Geography at the University of California, Berkeley, and the FOUNDATIONS FOR CHANGE: Thomas I. Yamashita Fellow. His research explores how abolitionist activists build non-carceral forms of safety through community mental health initiatives. His current project examines the relationship between abolitionist organizing practices and community mental health alternatives to incarceration in Oakland, California. Through this research, he aims to understand how tensions between carceral logics and abolitionist organizing practices shape the forms of care and safety available to Oakland residents. Drawing on the principles of community-engaged research, his methods emphasize building relationships with system-impacted families and community organizers as a foundation for both producing knowledge and sustaining community organizing efforts.
Prior to beginning his PhD at UC Berkeley, he completed an MSc in Migration, Mobility and Development at SOAS University of London, where he studied intra-African migration to Morocco, the country in which he grew up.
