She served 12 years as a sworn law enforcement officer with the United States Treasury Department. As a Special Agent of the IRS’ criminal investigation division, Martha investigated primarily financial fraud, money laundering, and tax law crimes. From 1990 to 2000, she served as a special advisor to the U. S. Justice Department’s international criminal investigative training assistance program in Latin America where she provided technical assistance, training and assessment to police and prosecutorial agencies in Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, and most of Central America. She is fluent in Spanish. In 1999, Martha worked with the Mayor’s Citizen Review Panel in its examination of internal investigation procedures within the Seattle Police Department.