Young Professionals: Dominique Martino Finds Niche Helping Others

BROCKWAY, Pa. (EYT) – From an early age, Dominique Martino, a native of Brockway, has loved interacting with others.

From school plays and musicals alongside her classmates to following her dad’s band around as their little groupie at their gigs, the big stage and building strong bonds has always been interesting to her.

These most recent years of her young life have seen many moments come full circle. From an entry level marketing and communications professional to now respected senior services and healthcare business professional in just under six years, it’s been quite a journey in her professional career. But even more than what she does in her day job, Dominique is now the lead singer for Cravin’ Waves, a band that developed from a group called The Avenue she grew up watching. Large in part because of her father, Michael being the drummer for the group and one of her biggest influences in her passion for music and performing.

“Back in 2022, I was joking with my dad that I was going to be his next singer. He then told me that the band had discussed asking me to be their singer, but were hesitant because of my work schedule. Since I agreed to join, it’s been nothing but an amazing experience. It will never get old having my dad on drums, watching my brother on the dance floor, and seeing my mom and nana recording videos in the audience. I never thought being in the band would happen.”

Martino’s parents, Michael and Jennifer, are terrific educators and were fundamental in her understanding of the importance of the opportunities education can unlock in life. When she first started college, she had an idea that she needed to work in a field that was incredibly interpersonal. But she never expected that education would lead her to a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees before her 28th birthday. Yet here she is, recently finishing her second master’s degree to complete 2023. This one being a Master of Health Administration (MHA) from the Pennsylvania State University that she completed almost entirely online.

“Over time, I’ve realized education is much bigger than the knowledge you gain in a specific area,” she explained. “I think education helps you be well-rounded and how to work with people different outside of a specific area. Education has allowed me to keep many windows open in my career.”

This degree makes her a two-time alum of Penn State as she completed her baccalaureate degree in Communications Advertising and Public Relations in December 2017. She spent her first few terms at Penn State Altoona before transferring to University Park to complete the latter part of her degree. “I’ve been a huge Penn State fan my entire life and my parents are both alums. I have around 25 to 30 members of my family who have attended Penn State. I never wanted to go anywhere else.”

In between her undergraduate career and her master’s in health administration, she wasted no time continuing her education. She found Saint Bonaventure University’s online master’s in Integrated Marketing and Communications. She started this program just as she started her first full-time job out of college at Priority Communications, the parent company of Sunny 106 and Connect FM radio stations. Jumping into a master’s curriculum and the first full-time role is certainly a lot to handle. But it was not just any role. It was radio advertising, social media and digital design, and sales. It’s high-paced and is certainly not the perfect fit if you’re not a people-person. But that’s who Martino is. It did not take her long to put her knowledge to use, and she grew in this first role working alongside veteran professionals in the profession like Lori Lewis and Jay Philippone.

Over time, she discovered that the business world was definitely for her. But she was most interested in working in the healthcare industry. This pivot in the industry she was working in happened in 2019 as she became the Director of Marketing and Communications at Christ the King Manor in DuBois. This role was her first taste of working in healthcare and more specifically, with a group of people who are elderly and need assistance in their daily lives.

“I knew I wanted to get into healthcare for a while. I had that desire, and I quickly discovered my passion for senior living and the impact of choosing the right facility and treatment can mean for residents. My first role at Christ the King was the reinforcement I needed to truly see the genuine impact that can be made in healthcare.”

After over a year with Christ the King, she discovered an opportunity in sales and marketing with Harmony Senior Services, a large organization that specializes in Independent living, assisted living/personal care, and memory care services. Since her time first began at the organization in 2021, she progressed from Director of Sales and Marketing at their State College community to Director of Sales and Marketing at Harts Run in the Greater Pittsburgh Area after working for Penn Highlands Healthcare in between those two roles for a short amount of time in their marketing department. One interesting development that happened during her time in Pittsburgh was she also added the Interim Executive Director title for a four-month stint at the Harts Run location. It was an eye-opening experience that taught her a great deal about healthcare operations and that she was working her way up in an industry she was passionate about. It showed her that earning her Personal-Care Home Administration (PCHA) Certificate was important to oversee more administrative and clinical activities across Harmony’s facilities.

In March 2023, she first moved into a role as a Corporate Sales Specialist for the company covering much of the east coast and some of the Great Lakes region. The role allowed her to return to her native Jefferson County, but her work week was spent almost only traveling to assist individual communities with their specific sales and marketing needs. From her performance and also completion of her MHA, she was rewarded by Harmony with a promotion to end 2023 to Regional Director of Sales and Marketing; a position that oversees a region of nine senior living facilities. The position means a little less life on the road and spent living out of hotel rooms. She works remotely and visits facilities as needed to assist members of her team.

During her time with Harmony, she has appreciated learning from many of her co-workers, peers, and mentors. One of her former co-workers, Erika O’Grady, was one that taught her a lot about the industry, and Martino was able to learn from by working with her over time. Though they no longer work together, she continues to lean on O’Grady both professionally and personally. Martino also has much admiration for Harmony’s Chief Executive Officer, Margaret Cabell, because of her leadership and belief in her across various marketing and sales roles in recent years. Martino has had the opportunity to work very closely with Cabell over the last several months, which has allowed her to gain even more knowledge about the industry and company while being able to support the organization in different ways, as well.

In the free time she has, she’s spent it traveling around to perform with Cravin’ Waves on weekends. Three of the original band members, including her father Michael on drums, continue to perform primarily rock music from the 1970s to today. Aside from performing alongside her father for just over one year, one of her all-time performances was singing the national anthem for a Pittsburgh Pirates game back in April 2019.

Cravin’ Waves.

Martino also owns and operates her own small business, in which she assists primarily small business owners with graphic design, social media, and website tasks. She continues to assist long-term clients, while also looking to add new ones to help improve their business with the advertising and marketing needs.

There have been many family members, friends, colleagues, and peers who have helped and supported Dominique over the years. No matter what is next in her career or life, she knows she has the support of many who will be there through every challenge and victory that comes along the way.

“I can’t underestimate how much my parents, brother Mikey, and the rest of my extended family mean to me. They always had my genuine best interest in their hearts, and so many of my family members have given me the best advice and support possible. At every graduation ceremony or big event, there have been no less than 15 or 20 family members in attendance to support me. Everything I do in my career in life is to honor each of them,” she said.