RAQUEL GUTIERREZ is Associate Director, Community Development. She is responsible for developing, managing and supporting efforts that build the capacity of community stakeholders to effectively work along the policy continuum. Prior to SLHI, Raquel spent 15 years as a consultant specializing in leadership development and the transformation of organizational culture.
Raquel is a graduate of Arizona State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in 1988. In 1994, Gutiérrez obtained a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Georgetown University. Her master’s thesis focused on the role of myths and traditions in Chicano culture. She graduated in August 2008 with a Ph.D. in Leadership and Change from Antioch University, where her award winning dissertation explored the alignment between the values, beliefs, and practices of social justice workers. In 2012 her chapter, “Indigenous Grandmas and the Social Justice Movement”, was published in Living Indigenous Leadership: Native Narratives on Building Strong Communities by the University of British Columbia Press. She is a recipient of the prestigious Ella Baker Fellowship: A fellowship exploring fundamental questions about social justice, civic engagement, and responsibility to others.