Marta Donayre arrived in the Unites States in 1995 to study and accompany her husband, a Stanford graduate student. Not long after arriving here, both realized that their marriage was a mistake and began divorce proceedings. Ms. Donayre continued her studies while dealing with her failed marriage, facing a new country by herself, and coming to terms with her own sexuality. Being in the San Francisco Bay Area encouraged Ms. Donayre to explore the gay world, where she found herself.

In 2001, Ms. Donayre co-founded the organization Love Sees No Borders with her partner Leslie Bulbuk to denounce the injustices faced by binational same-sex couples in the United States. The following year she was granted asylum based on her sexual orientation. As a result, her activism on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender immigrants increased. As the Public Education Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, she was the only rider in the 2003 Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride representing a LGBT organization.

Ms. Donayre is a member of the National Steering Committee of Amnesty International USA OUTFront Program. She received a Certificate of Appreciation from the San Francisco Immigrant Rights Commission and an official “Congratulations Certificate” from California Governor Gray Davis. In 2003, Tentaciones magazine named her one of the most influential LGBT Latinas in the United States.

Ms. Donayre received a Cum Laude Bachelor of Science in Public Relations with a Minor in Physics from San Jose State University. Currently she is enrolled in a Masters of Liberal Arts at Naropa University. She is a member of the Golden Key and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Societies.