Martha Castañeda

Martha Castañeda serves as Director of Policy and International Programs, a position she has held since 2016. She is responsible for oversight and coordination of CSG West’s policy and programs portfolio and of international programs.

She joined CSG West in 2005 to work on the Border Legislative Conference (BLC) and has led several delegations to Washington D.C. and Mexico City. In addition to staffing various policy committees and projects, Martha serves as liaison to various academic institutions and non-profit think tanks. She also is key coordinator with senior public officials from the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States with a goal of providing effective two-way communication channels for information sharing among CSG West members throughout the region.

Prior to her current role, Martha worked as director of outreach for what is now the Attorney General Alliance, a bipartisan cooperative program aimed at strengthening and supporting the transitioning legal system in Mexico. She also worked in health care and early childhood education at the beginning of her professional career.

Martha attended California State University’s San Jose and Sacramento campuses, where she majored in political science with a focus on international relations and a concentration on Latin America. Martha grew up in Northern California and is bilingual in Spanish.