By Derrick Mason, The Journal Standard: 

FREEPORT — A former Freeport resident has been recognized as a trailblazer for women’s rights.

Kelly Martin, 54, [1986 Northland College graduate] is one of about 60 “Silence Breakers” named Time magazine’s 2017 Person of the Year for her role in speaking out against sexual harassment.

Now the chief of fire and aviation management at Yosemite National Park, Martin first experienced sexual harassment in the workplace early in her 33-year career with the National Park Service and United States Forest Service. She dealt with a “peeping Tom” incident at Grand Canyon National Park in the 1980s.

In September 2016, Martin testified in front of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that at least three times she had been harassed during her career and detailed gender biases and a hostile work environment prevalent at Yosemite. She also mentioned that women are often forced to report incidents at professional, personal, emotional and financial expense.

“I just thought, ‘If it’s not me, then who?’” Martin said. ”‘If not now, when?’”

Martin joins celebrities such as Ashley Judd, Taylor Swift and Selma Blair who were recognized as what Time described as “the voices that launched a movement.” Marsha Mulligan, a neighbor and family friend when Martin lived in Freeport wasn’t all that surprised that Martin took a stance against harassment. To read the full article.