Courtney E. Martin has been called “one of our most insightful culture critics and one of our finest young writers” by Parker Palmer, and her writing has been described as “varied, transformational, and necessary for us all” by Jane Fonda and “a hardcover punch in the gut” by Arianna Huffington.

In 2010, Beacon Press published "Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists," in which Courtney profiled eight young people doing social justice work on the ground. In early-2010, Seal Press published her first anthology, co-edited with J. Courtney Sullivan, "CLICK: When We Knew We Were Feminists." Courtney also co-wrote the life story of AIDS activist Marvelyn Brown, called "The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and (HIV) Positive." Courtney’s first book, "Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: How the Quest for Perfection is Harming Young Women" was awarded a Books for a Better Life nomination and was called “smart and spirited” by The New York Times. In 2011, Penguin published her fifth book, "Project Rebirth: Survival and the Strength of the Human Spirit from 9/11 Survivors," released in conjunction with a film called "Rebirth" by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Jim Whitaker.

Courtney is a former editor at Feministing.com and the creator of The Secret Society for Creative Philanthropy. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Newsweek, the Christian Science Monitor, The American Prospect, The Nation, Glamour, and a variety of anthologies, among other publications. Courtney has appeared on "Good Morning America," NBC News’s "TODAY," "The O’Reilly Factor," CNN, and MSNBC, among other major media outlets.

In addition, Courtney consults with social justice organizations throughout the nation, including the Paley Center for Media, Ms. Foundation for Women, the National Council for Research on Women, the Women’s Funding Network, The International Museum of Women, and The Women’s Therapy Centre Institute. She contributed the conclusion to the groundbreaking Shriver Report, released by the Center for American Progress.

Courtney is a recipient of the Elie Wiesel Prize in Ethics and in 2009 was a resident of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center. She was a speaker at the inaugural TEDWomen Conference in December 2010 and her talk was subsequently published on TED.com.

Courtney earned her Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College in political science and sociology and her Master of Arts from the Gallatin School at New York University in writing and social change.