Marta Perez Drake
Chief Operating Officer
AACTE

For over 30 years, Marta Perez Drake has advocated for the higher education community in several roles. Since January 2023, Marta has served as the chief operating officer at AACTE, where she leads all the internal operations of the association. Prior to this new role, Marta served as senior vice president at NACUBO (National Association of College and University Business Officers), where she worked for over 15 years. In addition, Marta has worked for several other higher education associations including the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), the American Council on Education (ACE), and the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE). She also has worked on two college campuses, in areas such as student, faculty, and academic affairs, at Duke and Georgetown Universities.   

Since January 2020, Marta has pursued her lifelong dream of obtaining and completing her Ph.D. in communication studies. She is ABD and is currently working on her dissertation in organizational communication from George Mason University. She has taught courses including “Communication 101,” “Gender Communication,” and “Organizational Communication.” Marta’s disciplinary focus is on mentoring processes within organizations, and she also holds a graduate certificate in Women and Gender Studies. 

Marta graduated from Duke University with a BA in psychology and earned an MA in communication studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also completed Georgetown’s Institute for Transformational Leadership certificate program in 2017 and obtained her certification as a health and life coach in early 2021.    

Marta lives in Denver, CO, with her husband and their rescue dog, Rita. Marta has two adult children and enjoys walking/hiking with family and friends, reading, journaling, and trying new recipes.