The Martha Fund is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to preserving the memory of slain FBI Special Agent Martha Dixon by hosting family-oriented public events and funding the construction and renovation of playgrounds in the Pittsburgh area.
Martha received her undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh in 1982 and worked as a forensic chemist for the Arkansas State Crime Lab. She joined the FBI in 1987 and, while assigned to the Knoxville Field Office, became a technically trained agent and the first female SWAT team member for that field office. Martha was assigned to the Washington (DC) Field Office in 1992 and worked drug cases, violent crimes, and cold cases. Martha looked forward to returning to forensics and was a founding member of WFO’s Evidence Response Team, which was renamed the Dixon-Martinez Evidence Response Team in her honor.
Her family and friends channeled their grief into efforts to continue Martha’s two passions, running and children. The Martha Fund was formed in 1995 to raise funding for playground projects in her hometown. The Martha Fund’s main fundraising effort is Martha’s Run, a challenging 10K run and 2K run and walk through the rolling hills of Mt. Lebanon. Since the first fundraiser in 1995, The Martha Fund has gifted many smaller grants to assist playground projects, and in 2007, the signature project, Martha’s Playground, was unveiled in Mt. Lebanon Park. The Fund continues to support playground projects in the Pittsburgh area and is poised for another Martha’s Playground in the future.
