As we approach our 40th anniversary in 2027, we are excited to share that the Roth Foundation has been growing a lot, in terms of both our programs and our board. We thought it might be interesting for you to “meet” the board members who make it all happen. So, welcome to our seventh Board Member Spotlight, on Marti Estell!
Working with people-to-people exchanges is what drew me into the Foreign Service. My Junior Year Abroad experience in France, months living in Spain as an embassy dependent while my father served as a military attaché, and my pursuit of a Master’s degree in the UK resulted in a life-changing epiphany. I realized that learning how to communicate, connect, and build bridges with cultures not like my own would be my career goal. In the Foreign Service, I combined this passion with work that strengthened the ties between citizens of the United States and peoples around the world, to the benefit of us all.
As a Public Diplomacy Foreign Service Officer, I knew about the Lois Roth Foundation awards for Cultural Diplomacy, so it made sense for me to join the team once I retired. I was not aware, however, of the depth of the Foundation’s programming in the realms of academic collaborations and literature and translation. The more I learned, the more I was drawn to the Foundation’s mission and my own desire to continue supporting cultural diplomacy.
From 2019 to 2025, I served as the Board Lead for Project Support grants, the Foundation’s flagship program. I am very proud of our expansion of the program during this period. In celebration of our 35th anniversary in 2022, we launched three new grants in partnership with the Fulbright Commissions in Ecuador, Uruguay, and Morocco (MACECE). In 2024, we initiated a pilot project to test out giving grants to international Fulbrighters from Ecuador and Morocco; this has gone so well, that both grants will become permanent as of 2026.
My work with the Foundation blends well with being an active mentor for young people interested in global careers opportunities, particularly those from underrepresented communities. Since retiring, I have worked as a Senior Advisor with the Department of State’s student internship programs; served as the Chair of the Education Committee for DACOR, the foreign affairs professional organization; and served as a member of the board for PLEN, an organization dedicated to preparing college women and marginalized gender groups for leadership in the public policy arena.
It is clear that the need to promote international education and exchanges has never been more important than it is now. The United States can only thrive as an active, global member of an international and interconnected world. This requires being able to connect and communicate with a wide-range of people, cultures, and communities worldwide– a challenge to which the Roth Foundation is dedicated.
