Martha Thompson is the current NWMAF Self-Defense Coordinator. She has been an IMPACT Chicago Lead Instructor since 1988 (retired in 2020), a member of NWMAF since 1991, an NWMAF certified self-defense instructor since 2002, and holds a fifth-degree black belt in Seido karate. Martha has been a trainer at several NWMAF Conferences, including co-teaching the Empowerment Self-Defense Model Course in 2015 and is a co-author of the NWMAF Empowerment Model for Teaching Women’s Self-Defense. She served as the IMPACT Chicago Director and Admin Team Leader from 1988-2020, has served on the IMPACT International Board of Directors, is a co-founder of the Empowerment Self-Defense Alliance, and co-coordinates the ESD Research Committee. She is retired from Northeastern Illinois as a Professor of Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies. She has written articles on self-defense, such as “The Power of NO” in Feminist Teacher, “Empowering Self-Defense Training” in Violence Against Women,” and “Empowering ≠ Empowerment Self-Defense” on the IMPACT Chicago Blog.