MEET DRE MARTIN
WHO IS SEATS BY DRE?
“The question was never if we could make a difference with HBCU Night; it was how big of a difference we wanted to make.” - Dre Martin
Andres ("Dre") Martin, also known as "Seats by Dre," is a community advocate who discovered his calling at the intersection of program management, and creating children’s literature. As Founder/Executive Director of HBCU Night—a dynamic experience and award-winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit—Dre is committed to exposing youth from under-resourced communities to the HBCU experience through high-impact events and his #1 bestselling children’s book series, “HBCU Night.” HBCU Night's initiatives, collectively, are created for a multitude of demographics throughout the entire diaspora of his community. His dedication to helping poverty-stricken youth and the community is paramount to the “HBCU Night” empire he built. Dre is also the curator of college counseling program, “College Seats,” helping scholars discover and pursue their desired college and career pathways through a 10-step program. Martin values putting time into development and matriculation goals with each scholar. The young trailblazer out of Waterbury, CT has made it his obligation to display dedication with an unparalleled work-ethic to bring seats to the table and execute programs with an Agile approach and release literature with a Waterfall-style approach! Growing up, Dre didn’t know anything about HBCUs, but a tour from his aunt changed that—leading him to become a Grambling Tiger and an advocate for the value and impact HBCUs can provide.
HBCU NIGHT
From Martin’s undergraduate experience at Grambling State University, to his Executive MBA studies at Howard University, he has started his own movement to raise awareness for HBCUs, by touring with the multifaceted event, "HBCU Night," (hbcunight.org) and transfiguring the experience on the digital landscape, in arenas, corporate and schools. He continues to live out his passion of providing opportunities and expanding efforts of getting scholarships, academic resources, acceptance letters into the hands of the youth, and impacting programs. HBCU Nights all over the nation is a testament to Martin’s vision, dedication, and influence. Martin has program managed a total of 94 NBA team activations with 16/30 NBA teams hosting alumni fundraising-mixers, entertainment, along with panels and fairs that have contributed to HBCU Night’s philanthropic achievements of helping connect scholars to over $177+ million in scholarship dollars offered.
LET’S TALK SEATS
Dre is a firm believer in his ideology, "Navigate with purpose, and you’ll find yourself in a c-suite with a reserved seat." In addition to his ambition to provide seats for events, literature, and programs, the core values that define his character are reliability, authenticity, efficiency, and integrity. Martin's philanthropic initiatives with large audiences, and his ability to help his community get their "seat at the table," collectively, earned him his stage name, "Seats by Dre" (Inspired by renowned mogul, Dr. Dre) from mentor Drew Green.
LET’S MAKE HISTORY
Dre has collaborated with industry leaders such as Google, Microsoft, BET Networks, the NBA, MLB, NIKE, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, United Negro College Fund and more! When Martin is not advocating for HBCU matriculation, he is managing programs to finish lines. To Dre, 'seats' are earned opportunities, so click here to connect with Dre and learn more about how you can talk seats!
