Jennifer Gutiérrez is an organizer, activist, and ally. For nearly a decade, Jennifer has been deeply entrenched in the issues and struggles of the Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Ridgewood families that she now represents. Born and raised in Queens, to parents who emigrated from Colombia in the 1980s, Jennifer grew up in a one-bedroom apartment with her family in an immigrant rich community and attended local public schools all her life. Jennifer graduated from SUNY Albany with a B.A. in Political Science.
An advocate from a young age, Jennifer accompanied her mom, who worked as a domestic worker for over twenty years, to cleaning jobs to interpret and negotiate her wages. When she was ten years old, her father became disabled and it was Jennifer who would spend hours on the phone and write letters to insurance companies to ensure her family had the means to make rent. Jennifer began working as a community organizer in Williamsburg, working directly with residents on tenant and anti-eviction issues. It was here that she gained a deep respect for the existing organizing efforts to preserve crucial services in communities, the dire need for affordable housing, environmental justice, and equity in education.
As the Chief of Staff to City Council Member Antonio Reynoso, Jennifer implemented greater transparency and access for constituents by leading 8 cycles of Participatory Budgeting which led to over $5 Million of investments to public spaces like schools, streets, parks, and NYCHA.
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