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Meet Patsy

Patsy Woods Martin is a proud Texan and lifelong Democrat.

She is currently active in her family’s farming and ranching business.

Patsy served as the Executive Director of Annie’s List for four years, retiring on April 1, 2018.  Annie’s List works to “change the face of power” in Texas by targeting, recruiting, training and electing progressive women to political office.

After “retiring” from Annie’s List, Patsy launched a PAC in 2020 where she raised and invested almost $700,000 in Democratic State House races.  And in 2022 she served as Finance Chair for the launch and first quarter of the Beto for Governor campaign, leading the team that raised the first $23 Million for that race.

Martin is the founder of I Live Here, I Give Here, The Central Texas Campaign for Philanthropy, where she served as Executive Director for six years and continues to serve on the Board of Directors. I Live Here, I Give Here is a collaboration of individual philanthropists, nonprofit organizations, family foundations, local businesses, and religious leaders. The group works to increase philanthropy in Central Texas. In 2012, I Live Here, I Give Here launched the successful 24-hour giving period, Amplify Austin. Since then generous Central Texans have contributed more than $112 Million to more than 700 local nonprofits on Amplify Austin days.

Prior to launching I Live Here, I Give Here, Martin served in various leadership roles. In 1992, the Governor of Texas selected her to serve as a regent at her alma mater, Texas Tech University. From 2002 to 2006, she served as vice president of resource development for United Way Capital Area, where she managed a team that raised tens of millions of dollars on an annual basis and where she launched the Women’s Leadership Council.

In February 2017, the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Austin Chapter awarded Martin the Philanthropist of the Year award for her work and leadership within the philanthropic community. In March of 2017, Patsy was inducted into the City of Austin’s Women’s Hall of Fame for “breaking barriers for women and girls through her significant contributions to our city.”

Martin and her husband, Jack, moved to North Texas in 2018. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, where she was among the first two women elected to that Board.

Martin graduated from Texas Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. Upon graduation, she headed up an analytical lab at a major Houston oilfield service company, the first woman to ever hold that position.