Staff in Action: Gloria Gutierrez

Gloria Gutierrez, MA, Program Director – Sacramento/San Joaquin, is one of our fantastic staff members. In this interview, we’ll get to know Gloria and her work at AFS.

Gloria Gutierrez, MA, Program Director – Sacramento/San Joaquin, is one of our fantastic staff members. In this interview, we’ll get to know Gloria and her work at AFS.

What are your main responsibilities at AFS?

I am responsible for everything going on out of the Sacramento (and I also always include San Joaquin, to rep my families) office: Foster Care, Specialized Sacramento Shelter, San Joaquin Shelter, Family Findings, Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and I also support our Mental Health services. My primary responsibility is to lead, inspire, and support, all of the things we do, all of the staff who do it, all of our families, and all of our community partners, to make the difference that we collectively make in many lives.

What led you to work in this field?

I was interested in a helping profession from a younger age, as many can relate to, I am a helper and a healer. I actually started in therapeutic community-based services, my bachelors was in psychology and my masters was in counseling psychology. I landed in foster care and social work early after my graduate program. I started with 18-24 foster care as an intake specialist and an employment and education specialist, and then as a clinical caseworker. That’s where I developed my passion for working in foster care and specifically working with teenagers and young adults.

Why did you choose to work at AFS?

I chose AFS after taking a break from foster care, I wanted to get back into it after some time away. And due to what I had experienced and learned from the young people I connected with while working in 18-24 foster care, from them about their experiences growing up in the system, I wanted to get involved at an earlier point in the system to try to make a difference earlier in people’s lives and situations. I joined AFS because AFS had a good reputation- I was hired right at the start of the pandemic in 2020, which was a leap of faith to change jobs at the start of the pandemic. I started in the Oakland Office as Assistant Program Director and I then I had the opportunity to come out to Sacramento as Program Director at the end of 2021. I feel I have been able to learn and appreciate a lot about AFS having worked in different offices.

Tell us about one impactful moment you’ve had since working at AFS.

There are too many to decide on one. My job allows me to experience a lot of amazing work that my team and community does to make an impact and I am lucky for that. However, my favorite recent moments have been watching all of the children’s and families excitement and smiles at the holiday party we threw for them before Christmas, and watching some of my resource parents enjoy and feel honored at our luncheon for RP appreciation month- I like the moments when I get to step back from all of the hard things and the fast pace and just see the positive outcome and connection produced by everything we do.

Please tell us about a particularly memorable success story!

One of the biggest successes is the teenagers who started in our shelter program that we have been able to find matches in long term foster placement for with AFS- and watching them settle into those families and thrive in many areas of their lives. By the time the teenagers we serve come to our shelter program, they typically have an extensive documented history and high acuity which can be intimidating for a lot of families. It is always a win when we can bridge our teenagers with our families. It’s beautiful to see them in a home-based setting. The other biggest success is watching my team grow (my team has literally doubled in size) and watching my office develop from one single service/program to many, and from that, to receive such positive feedback from our partners and community about what an impact AFS Sacramento is having on the front lines of change.

What’s one piece of advice you would provide to someone just starting out in a similar role?

I think the biggest advice I would give to anyone starting out at AFS is to be willing to learn. There are many people to learn from and then decide what to tailor as your own and integrate into your own experiences that you are bringing to your role.

Something I tell staff, resource parents, and anyone when they need perspective to the work they are doing: The day you plant the seed is not the day you see the flower grow. In my opinion, that could go for anything in life or any role, and it’s important to keep in mind to remain persistent.