Publisher, Professor, Speaker, Entrepreneur
While entrepreneurship is hot today, Alyssa Martina has long been an entrepreneur.
The 1982 alumna of Wayne State University Law School launched Metro Parent Publishing Group in 1986. The venture was so successful that a year later Wayne Law named her among Most Outstanding Alumni, and WSU in 1988 honored her with a Headliner Award.
She worked as a staff attorney with Wayne County Circuit Court from 1982 to 1987 and then gave her energy full time to her business.
Alyssa Martina is passionate about turning ideas into opportunities and about sharing her business expertise with startups and students.
While entrepreneurship is hot today, Martina has long been an entrepreneur. The 1982 alumna of Wayne State University Law School launched Metro Parent Publishing Group in 1986. The venture was so successful that a year later Wayne Law named her among Most Outstanding Alumni, and WSU in 1988 honored her with a Headliner Award. She worked as a staff attorney with Wayne County Circuit Court from 1982 to 1987 and then gave her energy full time to her business.
Martina has garnered many honors over the years, and her magazines — Metro Parent and BLAC, which stands for Black Life, Arts & Culture — continue to thrive and serve their readers.
“Metro Parent came about because of a need for parenting resources that didn’t exist at the time,” Martina said. “I was curious as to how to provide information and resources about parenting, and I felt there was a great opportunity for the publication. It’s so astonishing to meet people who claim it as their ‘parenting bible’ and say that their moms relied on it as much as they do with their own children and families today.
“For BLAC, a friend approached me about launching the magazine. He had started a similar publication in Orlando that was ultimately purchased by The Tribune Co. He thought that it would be great to partner with us and launch a similar publication in Detroit. About four years into it, he had to pull out, so we sought African-American partners in the Detroit region. In fact, Paul Riser (of WSU’s TechTown) is chair of our board. It’s been a great journey, and I’m very proud of that magazine.”
She has a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Michigan and decided to continue her education there, earning a master’s degree in business administration with highest distinction from the Ross School of Business in 2010.
Today, she’s an adjunct professor at U of M’s Law School, teaching business law and entrepreneurship courses. She also has taught entrepreneurship at Fordham University School of Business in New York and what is now WSU’s Mike Ilitch School of Business, where she also serves on the Board of Visitors. She has lectured frequently, as well, including many times for WSU’s journalism program. WSU’s Journalism Institute for Media Diversity honored her with a Working in the Spirit of Diversity Award in April. Martina was the keynote speaker at the 2012 Inaugural Business Address for the university’s TechTown business accelerator and incubator and the WSU Center for the Study of Citizenship. Her presentation then was “Why Entrepreneurs Should Care About Corporate Citizenship.”
She cares about that concept and “walks the talk” by serving as an advisor and mentor for many startups and nonprofits. She has a small business consulting firm for startups through which she advises entrepreneurs on myriad topics. Martina also has served on more than two dozen community boards in the past decade, including serving the Michigan Women’s Commission, Children’s Hospital of Michigan, WSU Center for the Study of Citizenship, New Detroit Inc. and Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute of WSU.
“Every day of my week is different,” Martina said. “I’m in a lot of meetings but they could be in Detroit, Ferndale, Ann Arbor, Chicago or New York City. I work late into the night and do my best thinking from 10 p.m. to 2 or 3 a.m. That is the time that I get much of my own work done.”
She is passionate about business and entrepreneurship and passionate about teaching.
“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit, since I was a child,” Martina said. “My father, who was a cardiovascular surgeon and taught at the Wayne State School of Medicine, was also an entrepreneur, and he taught me that you should never box yourself in and that opportunities exist all around us if we’re open to them. I always have been passionate about exploring ideas that could turn into business opportunities. The entrepreneurial community in both Detroit and Ann Arbor is very tight knit, and we all want to help one another succeed.
“I also love teaching. There is something about teaching that energizes me and gives me great optimism about our future. Teaching students about business, management, entrepreneurship, negotiations and law is incredibly gratifying and uplifting.”
7 questions with Alyssa Martina
Q: What kind of kid were you?
A: I was very curious as a child, and I still am. I was interested in all sorts of careers. I was interested in people, and the different paths they took, as well as the adventures and challenges they encountered. That’s still very much the case.
Q: What advice would you offer to your 15-year-old self?
A: Never look at any door as closed. Be open to all possibilities, and have the courage to explore and be curious. Don’t allow anyone to put limits on your capabilities or accomplishments. Work hard, and don’t be afraid of success or failure.
Q: What’s your best advice for beginning law students thinking of becoming entrepreneurs?
A: Take as many courses on business as you can, and keep an open mind. Never leave a stone unturned, because you don’t know where the opportunity is. It’s important to evaluate risk, but you don’t want to do it too early in the ideation process or you’ll never get an idea off the ground. Finally, don’t be scared of your creative mind. Explore ideas with curiosity, wonder and a sense of creativity.
Q: What is most memorable to you about your law school years?
A: One of my most memorable experiences was with Professor Joseph Grano, who has since passed away. He taught Criminal Law and was brilliant and tough. But when I mistakenly missed a section of his final exam and had to come to his office to explain what had happened, he was extraordinarily kind. I recall him saying, “Ms. Martina, my job is to evaluate you on what you know. So, I’m not interested in penalizing you for this mistake if it came about honestly.” (Which it did.) It was a remarkable moment of graciousness and taught me a lot about academia. It was a lesson that I use myself with my own students.
Q: What honors are you most proud of and why?
A: I have received many awards, and they all touch me in profound ways. But perhaps the most meaningful was to receive a Most Outstanding Alumni award from Wayne Law only five years after I had graduated.
Q: What was your first job?
A: I love to work, and I recall several jobs, mostly in sales. The ones I Ioved most were those that allowed me to be creative.
Q: What do you like to watch on TV?
A: I love to read, and I love music. I don’t watch TV. I just don’t have time for it. When people talk about popular shows on TV, I am often clueless. But I do love to go out to concerts and movies. When I have time, I also love to travel.
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