Rachel Martens

Rae Martens is an author, advocate, implementation and engagement specialist dedicated to strengthening partnerships between families, researchers, and communities. Her work focuses on advancing meaningful family engagement in child health and disability research, ensuring that lived experience, evidence, and collaboration shape better outcomes for children and youth. Rae works with the Family Engagement in Research (FER) Training Program and supports initiatives through the University of Calgary's Azrieli Accelerator, contributing to projects that enhance accessibility, co-creation, and community-driven knowledge sharing. With a background in science communication, project development, and community-engaged scholarship, she strives to make research more responsive to the priorities of families and to foster environments where diverse perspectives can inform practice and innovation. Rae is passionate about amplifying underrepresented voices and building bridges that help families, practitioners, and researchers learn and thrive together.

She also facilitates engagement and promotes knowledge mobilization through a variety of other initiatives. Initiatives such as the online group Parents Partnering in Research ensure more opportunities for connection and community participation. Rae has an interest in federal and provincial disability policy and uses writing  and social media content creation as a tool for advocacy and engagement.

Related links:

The Azrieli Accelerator - Connecting community and research for better impact

Attending In-person Research Conferences When Your Patient or Family Partners Have a Chronic Illness

Engagement as Psychosocial Practice (Part 1)

Practical Tips for Engaging Children, Youth and Families in Research (Part 2)