Meet the Team: Armand Gutierrez
/
Our Meet the Team blog series give you a glimpse into our team members' approach to working with our partners to achieve better results for communities. Today we’re getting to know research consultant Armand Gutierrez.
1. What is your role at Engage R+D?
I play a variety of roles that involve my skills in research, analysis, writing, facilitation, and teaching. As a research consultant, I support evaluation and learning with a focus on equity and building stronger communities. Right now I’m working on projects focused on economic mobility in communities, narratives of what it means to be parents and adult caregivers, as well as community and early childhood learning.
2. What experience do you bring to this work?
My background is in sociology, where I got my PhD with a focus on understanding migration dynamics including migrants themselves and their children. I’ve done a lot of research on race and ethnicity, including on racial inequality in the US. I have also worked as a teacher; I taught classes at UC San Diego on law and society, deepening my understanding of inequalities affecting vulnerable people. As a mentor, I have also supported students from underrepresented groups to help them strengthen their skills in research, writing, and teaching. Throughout, I’ve had the lens of social justice in teaching and research, including in undergrad at UCLA, where I worked in the Community Programs Office, supporting students and parents in LAUSD high schools.
My ethos in teaching is facilitating a discussion, and I bring that mentality to my evaluation work. I might have material I want to get to but I want to see how the individuals in the room can personally connect and relate to it. Holding space for others to share their experiences has always been important to me. I have focused on qualitative research, interviews, gaining insights through interactions, which is something I carry today, with team members, funders, and community members. I hold the space so others can share their opinions and connect with data so that it is not some abstract concept.
3. Can you share something that motivates you?
My motivation has always been to drive social change - particularly to understand race and ethnicity and work toward racial equity. That has motivated my work in sociology, tutoring and counseling, public health, and is something that will continue to shape the rest of my career path. Over time I learned the importance of the impact of trying to uplift and facilitate others’ inclusion so they can connect with data and evidence, trying to facilitate a larger sense of community so people can better understand racial inequities and ensure they ca have agency to address it. I strive to be a supportive ally and part of that is to support conversation and coming up with answers as a community.
4. What do you love about your job?
The people! The Engage team, community members, and organizations we work with are so committed to advancing systems change. The people I interact with every day are passionate about the work they are in, and I get an incredible chance to learn from everyone’s lived experience. I am in a new space as well and, while I have been in the field of evaluation before, these are all new experiences where I am constantly learning and appreciative of everyone who is so supportive of what we are collectively trying to achieve.
5. How are you taking care of yourself these days?
There are a number of things. I try to exercise daily, I practice some mindfulness to take care of myself, and I’m really into sports, movies, and TV shows. And I’ve been working on my green thumb - I have gotten really into plants. Before the pandemic in 2020 I had one plant; now I have more than 50. And you can propagate plants really easily, so 50 is a conservative estimate! I have all kinds of plants, including succulents, pothos, bamboo, calatheas, air plants, and more, and I have a ton inside and outside my house. It’s been so restorative. A lot of mistakes, but also a lot of growing and learning.
