The San Antonio Legal Services Association announced it has hired nonprofit executive and fundraising strategist James Martinez to lead the organization as executive director.
Martinez succeeds Sarah Dingivan, SALSA’s first CEO and executive director who left the nonprofit in May, and Robert Mihara, SALSA’s managing attorney, who served as interim executive director.

Martinez, who is not a lawyer, joins SALSA from Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, where he served as director of development and executive director. In an announcement, SALSA touted Martinez’s more than two decades of nonprofit leadership, fundraising and advocacy. He raised millions of dollars for organizations across Texas and doubled the endowment at Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation.
“Throughout my career, I’ve seen the impact that strong fundraising and committed advocacy can have on communities,” Martinez said. “At SALSA, every dollar raised translates into more legal help for families who otherwise would have nowhere to turn. That’s a responsibility I take very seriously.”
According to SALSA, Martinez became the first Texan and first Hispanic recipient of the Vilar Fellowship at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He later served as Manager for International Programming, where he oversaw global cultural initiatives, including the Festival of China.
Locally, Martinez played a key role in public health advocacy as part of the Smoke-Free San Antonio campaign, which led to the passage of the city’s smoke-free ordinance in 2009. He went on to serve as State Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association, where he focused on statewide clean air policy initiatives.
A U.S. Air Force veteran who served in Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield, Martinez studied at San Antonio College and graduated from the University of Phoenix. He was named one of the San Antonio Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Rising Stars.
Now in its fifth year, SALSA experienced a significant funding shortfall earlier this year, bringing the organization to the brink of closure. A public plea for donations ultimately provided support to sustain its operations.
Today, SALSA has enough funding to take the organization through the end of next summer, said Board President Robert Soza Jr., a partner at Jackson Walker.
After that funding crisis, SALSA’s board of directors determined a need to divide up the management responsibilities and decided the organization needed a leader experienced in administrative development, Soza said.
“James’ background seemed particularly relevant, and the fact that he is from San Antonio and has strong connections to the community here,” Soza said. “We need to diversify, not only the community that funds us, but the communities that we serve. And I think that James can be able to help us bridge new communities, new people that need our services.”
Martinez, whose first day was Sept. 9, said he is primarily focused on fundraising and providing the resources staff need to serve more clients.
“Some people will look at my career and say, ‘This guy’s all over the place. He’s worked in so many different areas’ … but it’s always been under the guise of wanting to help,” Martinez said.
Right away, Martinez said he is focused on expanding SALSA’s fundraising beyond the legal community, diversifying revenue without competing with other legal organizations for the same donors. Part of that effort includes reshaping how SALSA tells its story.
“I really think it’s about changing the narrative in terms of who we serve,” he said. “It’s not just a direct individual. It’s the children who live with them. It’s everybody else who becomes an indirect client. I think that we have to change that narrative so that people understand the impact that we have.”