La Nell Martin is an Oakland, CA native who has taught grade levels K through 12 in the Bay Area for over 25 years in public and private schools. She holds a B.A. in Voice from California State University East Bay, M.A. in Music Education from San Jose State University, and a Level One Certificate in Kodály from Holy Names University. La Nell is the Artistic Director for the Oakland Youth Chorus and Director of Youth Programs at the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. She served as pianist and choir director for the Bethany Baptist Church (Oakland, CA) for over 20 years. La Nell was an Adjunct Professor at Holy Names University for two years. Currently, she is the Supervisor for Student Teachers at San Jose State University. La Nell has served on the California Choral Directors Association (CCDA) board as the Resource and Representative to the Children and Youth Community Choir for four years. She now looks forward to working on the board as a Youth and Children's Choir Committee member. La Nell believes exposing young people to singing music from different cultures inspires tolerance in our communities. It allows young singers to build self-respect for their own culture and identity as well as respect for the world.