I’m josh martinez,
CEO of Future Emergent.
I use racial equity and social justice as guiding principles in my work. I love temperate rainforests, community solidarity, and a good lasagna.
The world we live in should work for everyone, not a select few. There’s so much of the status quo that people take for granted. But humans built the systems all around us. We can unbuild them. We can create something better together. We can't do it without involving the communities we live in.
The future obsessed me as a kid. I love time travel stories (still do). I always wanted to be able to jump ahead to the times when things started to get interesting. But the future isn’t ahead of us. It's happening right now.
I started Future Emergent in 2022 to spread my approach across sectors. adrienne maree brown’s work, Emergent Strategy, had a huge influence on me. Her concept of fractals formed the basis for a lot of what I write about: small, personal efforts can influence much larger systems. Heard within the word “emergent” is another one: “urgent.” We must take an active role in our future before it will happen.
“Future Emergent” evokes a green shoot emerging from well-cultivated soil. The logo is a fractal that represents making sense of complexity. Our work is a journey with recognizable turning points but no end. We should all strive and push for a better world, especially for the people hurt by this one. We need their guidance to make that happen.
A group of people I co-facilitated for with my friend and fellow consultant Clara Olivo.
about me
I’m a Brown and queer man with Mexican and Sri Lankan heritage. I spell my name with lowercase letters. I have degrees in Neurobiology and Spanish Literature. I hold a certificate in Strategic Management from Wharton University. I completed advanced facilitation training with the Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance. I write about food sovereignty, racial and social justice, and more on my blog be the future.
I live in Seattle, Washington with my husband.
