Biography
Stephen Martin-Pinto is a fifth generation San Franciscan. His great great grandmother, Guadalupe Miranda, was born here in San Francisco in 1848. His great grandmother was a survivor of the 1906 earthquake. His grandfather was an engineer for the city for 30 years, and his mother was a nurse at San Francisco General Hospital. His other grandparents were immigrants from Ecuador, and his grandfather was one of the first Hispanic doctors in the Mission District.
Stephen attended St. Phillip's Elementary, Lowell High School, and University of California at Davis, graduating with a degree in Environmental Engineering in 2001. While at Davis, he was a member of the Men's Crew team for 4 years, and had a late night music radio show on KDVS 90.3FM, the college radio station.
Left photo: Promotion to Corporal, April 1, 2006, Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, San Diego California.
Right photo: On assignment for the Bureau of Land Management on a Type I (hot shot) Hand crew, Alaska, July 2009
After graduation, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps, inspired by the events of 9/11. He was given the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) of 7051, Aircraft Firefighter and Crash Rescue Specialist. He was stationed at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station in San Diego, California for 5 years, deploying to Iraq and promoting to the rank of Sergeant. After Iraq, he was selected to attend Officer Candidate's School in Quantico, Virginia. He was promoted to Second Lieutenant, given the MOS of 0602 Communication Officer, and deployed to Afghanistan and Georgia (the country) as a foreign military advisor and trainer. He promoted to Captain, left active duty in 2014, and returned to San Francisco.
Left Photo: At the Detroit Steps Fundraiser, as President of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, Nov 2019
Right Photo: At work on the Central Subway, as member of Pile Drivers Local 34, April 2016
He was hired by the San Francisco Fire Department in August 2014, transferred to the Marine Corps Reserves, and also became an apprentice Pile Driver with Local 34. As a firefighter, he has worked at nearly every station, and has been assigned to Pacific Heights, Inner Sunset, Bernal Heights, Civic Center, and Chinatown Stations. He did a deployment to the wildfires in Southern California in 2018. He is a certified fire instructor, and teaches fire control at locations around Northern California. He is a NERT and Listos SF instructor, and is a member of the department's Vision Zero and Tactical EMS committees. He was promoted to Major in the Marine Corps reserves in 2019, and has done short deployments to Canada, Korea, and attended the Captain's course at Camp Pendleton. As a union pile-driver, he worked as a welder on the Central Subway project in San Francisco, as well as various other projects around the bay area.
Left photo: With Erica Maybaum, Sup. Norman Yee at the Circular Avenue Ribbon Garden Cleanup, May 2019
Right photo: Then 1stLt Martin-Pinto, near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border on a training mission, stopping to meet the locals, Nov 2013
He has been very active in the community, serving as president of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association from 2016-2020, secretary of the West of Twin Peaks central Council since 2019, and Commissioner of the San Francisco Veteran's Affairs Commission since 2019. He has served on the district 7 participatory budget committee, and has been active as a neighborhood voice for the Balboa Reservoir Project, the Detroit Steps project, and the Circular Avenue Ribbon Garden cleanup.
Left photo: On Mount Davidson, with lots of dogs of friends and family, February 2020
Right photo: Teaching fire control at Yuba College, Marysville CA
He currently lives in the Sunnyside neighborhood with his family, two dogs, and three chickens. His hobbies include playing the banjo, guitar, and harmonica. He likes to travel and has been to nearly every state and major city in the US. He is fluent in Spanish, and proficient in Russian and Georgian (the language) from his time in the military and time at SFFD Station 14 (mid-Richmond district).