Aurora Martinez Jones

Aurora Martinez Jones, an Afro-Latina first generation American, is an appointed Associate Judge in Travis County and was sworn in on January 2, 2015. She is from La Porte, Texas and attended college at The University of Texas at Austin where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government. She then attended The University of Texas School of Law and upon receiving her law license; she started her own law firm. As an attorney, she practiced primarily in child welfare law and civil litigation. Judge Martinez Jones is Board Certified in Child Welfare Law and is a Child Welfare Law Specialist, Certified by the National Association of Counsel for Children. Her court is dedicated to the child welfare dockets in Travis County. Judge Martinez Jones is active locally, statewide and nationally with her work promoting Judicial Innovation.

Judge Martinez Jones has been an active advocate for mentoring and supporting a pipeline of young, diverse professionals into the field of law. From founding the UT Austin pre-law organization, Minority Women Pursuing Law as a student, to providing internship opportunities at her law firm and now her Court, Judge Martinez Jones has insisted on clearing a path for students to learn and understand the practice of law; especially students, like her, who did not otherwise have personal connections to lawyers growing up.

In addition to her professional work, Judge Martinez Jones is a community advocate, working to ensure equity for children and families of color. She is the co-founder of the Child Welfare Race Equity Collaborative which has a mission focused on accountability for racial inequities within the child welfare system and disparities in the community. This collaborative works with the community to re-imagine the ways in which children and families in need can receive support and to re-build a system with the voice of the community at the forefront.

Judge Martinez Jones and her husband, Mitchell Jones, are the proud parents of two precious little girls. On her personal time, Judge Martinez Jones enjoys watching Anime, discussing books with her feminist book club, and watching movies with her family.