Austin Martin
Online Learning-Literacy
Austin Martin is the Founder and CEO of Rhymes With Reason, an online learning platform that helps young people learn words while building literacy in various areas such as English Language Arts, Entrepreneurship, Workforce Development and Civics via popular music. His organization has worked with over 200 schools and afterschool programs across the United States to date, with a large presence in Detroit, MI, Philadelphia, PA, and Los Angeles, CA. Austin’s own educational trajectory is the inspiration behind his organization’s mission. His deep investment in hip-hop music and its illustrious vocabulary gave him the opportunity to excel as a reader, writer and communicator.
Born and raised here in San Diego, Austin went on to Brown University, and later got his Masters in Education from Harvard. He credits his parents and grandparents for inspiring him to be involved with facilitating marginalized communities as they worked in education and healthcare. He was listed as Forbes 2020 30 Under 30 in education, Echoing Green Black Male Achievement Fellow, International Literacy Association’s 30 Under 30 Global Nominee, and was the Harvard Social Impact Fellowship Fund Awardee.
Austin thanks his sponsors Michael Brunker, Jordan Harrison and Duke Sobek.