Ms. Tgichona G. Martin holds both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts in Psychology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She was a doctoral student in child clinical psychology at SIUC and was to begin her internship in Chicago the summer of 2000. She was president of Psi Chi (psychology honor society), president of the Black Undergraduate Psychology Student Organization, Black Student Caucus president, and was named the Minority Undergraduate Student of Excellence (MUSE). Ms. Martin's research concentration is in the area of abusive and neglectful parenting and treatment of juvenile offenders. She has presented her research at the Midwestern Psychology Association.

Ms. Martin's strong interest in youthful offenders and disadvantaged and at-risk children is evident through her work at SIUC and in the community. She has received the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Illinois Youth Center-Murphysboro, and she was recently nominated for the American Psychological Association Service Award by the SIUC Psychology Department. Ms. Martin is very active in community service through Delta Sigma Theta. She is a volunteer at the Women's Shelter where she has trained other volunteers regarding the children entering the Shelter, led children's groups, and was a consultant in matters pertaining to the children at the shelter. Ms. Martin currently leads anger management for teens at SIUC Clinical Center and she works half time at Franklin-Williamson Mental Health Center.