Mónica Gutiérrez
Assistant Professor
What I do
I explore how policies shape who gets to stay in a neighborhood—and who gets pushed out—especially in Latino/a communities. My work centers real stories from residents and uses community-based research to fight for justice and a sense of belonging in the places people call home.Specialization(s)
Community organizing, public policy, social justice, and Latina/o/x perspectives
Professional Biography
Mónica Gutiérrez, MSW, PhD is an assistant professor at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW), where she’s passionate about connecting classroom learning with real-world change. She’s also a faculty affiliate with DU’s Interdisciplinary Research Institute for the Study of (In)Equality (IRISE), the Center for Community Engagement to Advance Scholarship and Learning (CCESL), and the Center for Immigration Policy & Research (CIPR).
Dra. Gutiérrez’s path into research and teaching was shaped by the migration stories of her family from rural México—stories that sparked a lifelong passion for community, culture, and justice. Her work resides at the intersection of urban development, critical race theory, and testimonios (personal narratives), focusing on how gentrification and displacement impact historically under-resourced neighborhoods. She partners with communities to co-create research and advocate for policies that center health equity, sustainability, and place-based belonging.
Before stepping into academia, she spent over a decade working in child welfare, Veterans' health, the criminal justice system, and health promotion. These experiences laid the groundwork for her community-based approach to research and teaching. As a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Research Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, she deepened her commitment to policy advocacy rooted in community voices and justice-driven solutions.
Dra. Gutiérrez’s contributions to the field of social work have been recognized through numerous awards, including the Emerging Scholar Award from the Association for Community Organization and Social Action (ACOSA) and the Doctoral Fellows Award from the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR).
Dra. Gutiérrez’s path into research and teaching was shaped by the migration stories of her family from rural México—stories that sparked a lifelong passion for community, culture, and justice. Her work resides at the intersection of urban development, critical race theory, and testimonios (personal narratives), focusing on how gentrification and displacement impact historically under-resourced neighborhoods. She partners with communities to co-create research and advocate for policies that center health equity, sustainability, and place-based belonging.
Before stepping into academia, she spent over a decade working in child welfare, Veterans' health, the criminal justice system, and health promotion. These experiences laid the groundwork for her community-based approach to research and teaching. As a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Research Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, she deepened her commitment to policy advocacy rooted in community voices and justice-driven solutions.
Dra. Gutiérrez’s contributions to the field of social work have been recognized through numerous awards, including the Emerging Scholar Award from the Association for Community Organization and Social Action (ACOSA) and the Doctoral Fellows Award from the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR).
Degree(s)
- BA, Chicano Studies, Minor Industrial Design, San Francisco State University
- MSW, Planning, Administration and Community Practice, Arizona State University
- Ph.D., Social Work, Arizona State University
Licensure / Accreditations
- Lean Six-Sigma Green Belt Certificate
Professional Affiliations
- Society for Social Work Research (SSWR)
- ACOSA: Association for Community Organization and Social Administration
- Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
Media Sources
- Podcast: Challenging Place and Power: A Discussion of Participatory Research Me…
- Podcast: Injustice by Design w/ Mónica Gutiérrez
- Expert Interview: Rent hikes, downtown boom spur gentrification of older Tucson…
- Blog Interview: Introducing the Next Generation of Racism Scholars, Part 3: T…
- Op-Ed: In spite of the darkness, COVID-19 has propelled social work into the 21…
Research
My research explores how policies shape who gets to stay in a neighborhood and who gets pushed out, especially in Latino communities. By utilizing innovative methods—such as oral histories, community mapping, critical ethnography, and policy analysis—I collaborate closely with communities to gain deeper insights into their stories and struggles. This work informs social work practice by identifying culturally responsive approaches to supporting communities, influencing policy, and fostering more inclusive and equitable spaces. Ultimately, my goal is to equip social workers with practical, community-centered tools for fostering stronger partnerships between communities and institutions and contributing to a more just and equitable society.
Current Projects:
Casa Promotores Amplificando La Sabidura (Casa PALS)
[PI: Mónica Gutiérrez and Co-PI: Diliana De Jesús, Chief Development Officer for Casa Esperanza, Inc.] $375,000 grant awarded from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health. The Casa PALS project examines how promotor-led health interventions in the Boston metropolitan area support Latine communities and how culturally rooted programs foster resilience in the face of housing and healthcare challenges. This research builds on my work on place-based belonging by exploring how community-driven solutions and social networks mitigate the effects of displacement in marginalized neighborhoods.
Safety Beyond Surveillance: Evaluating the Role of SROs in Fostering Safe Learning Environments
[PI: Mónica Gutiérrez] $48,000 DU (internal) PROF Grant examines how School Resource Officers (SROs) affect Black and Latina/o/x high school students' sense of place-based belonging within Denver Public Schools. This work extends my theoretical framework that racialized communities experience displacement without physical relocation, showing how institutional practices like school discipline create patterns of psychological and social displacement parallel to gentrification-induced physical displacement.
Current Projects:
Casa Promotores Amplificando La Sabidura (Casa PALS)
[PI: Mónica Gutiérrez and Co-PI: Diliana De Jesús, Chief Development Officer for Casa Esperanza, Inc.] $375,000 grant awarded from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health. The Casa PALS project examines how promotor-led health interventions in the Boston metropolitan area support Latine communities and how culturally rooted programs foster resilience in the face of housing and healthcare challenges. This research builds on my work on place-based belonging by exploring how community-driven solutions and social networks mitigate the effects of displacement in marginalized neighborhoods.
Safety Beyond Surveillance: Evaluating the Role of SROs in Fostering Safe Learning Environments
[PI: Mónica Gutiérrez] $48,000 DU (internal) PROF Grant examines how School Resource Officers (SROs) affect Black and Latina/o/x high school students' sense of place-based belonging within Denver Public Schools. This work extends my theoretical framework that racialized communities experience displacement without physical relocation, showing how institutional practices like school discipline create patterns of psychological and social displacement parallel to gentrification-induced physical displacement.
Areas of Research
community organizing
public policy
social justice
Latina/o/x perspectives
Featured Publications
. (2023). "Muéstrame tus papeles": A LatCrit discourse for understanding the well-being of Latina's and their resistance to anti-immigration politics. In Critical Race Theory in social work.
. (2022). "Me siento seguro aquí. No quiero irme." Examining the impact of gentrification and displacement on the well-being of the Latina/o community. ProQuest.
. (2021). Incorporating photovoice into a community-based intervention: Practice implications from Your Family, Your Neighborhood. Advances in Social Work, 21(4).
. (2020). Effects of a community-based pilot intervention on home food availability among U.S. households. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(4).
. (2019). Implementing compassion fatigue prevention for lay employees conducting naloxone training: An example from rural Arizona. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 19(3).
. (2018). Long-term effects of sit-stand workstations on workplace sitting: A natural experiment. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 21(8).
Presentations
. (2025). Building Bridges: Collaborative Approaches to Advancing Equity and Culturally Tailored Care for the Latine Community. The Boston Area Research Initiative Annual Insight-to-Impact Summit. Boston, MA.
. (2025). Creo que mi meta es ayudar a mi comunidad y ver un cambio: Latinas/os remaking home through community-engaged mapping. Presentation of research findings. . 2025 AAG Annual Meeting . Detroit, MI: The American Association of Geographers.
. (2025). El Respeto Al Derecho Ajeno [A Conseguir Un Doctorado] Es La Paz. Respect for The Rights of Others [To Get a Phd] is Peace. 20th Annual AAHHE Annual Conference. Denver, CO: American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education.
. (2024). Ni De Aqui, Ni De Alla: Exploring border spaces by centering Critical Race Theory and LatCrit in Social Work Praxis. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Workforce Development Presentation. Seaside, CA: California State University Monterey Bay School of Social Work.
. (2024). El Respeto Al Derecho Ajeno [A Conseguir Un Doctorado] Es La Paz. Respect for The Rights of Others [To Get a Phd] is Peace. 2024 Latinx Social Work Organization Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. : Latinx Social Work Organization.
. (2024). Latinas/os in Higher Education: Interactive Workshop. Human Rights in Latinx Social Work Practice: Integrating into Micro/Mezzo/Macro Social Work. Chicago, IL: Latinx Social Work Organization .
. (2024). Defending and Supporting DEIB Educators and Scholars Against Censorship and State Bans . 2024 Council on Social Work Education Annual Meeting. Kansas City, MO: Council on Social Work Education.
. (2023). Commencement Speaker for GSSW Graduation Ceremony. MSW Virtual Graduation Ceremony. Denver, Colorado: Graduate School of Social Work.
. (2023). Ni De Aqui, Ni De Alla: Exploring border spaces by centering Critical Race Theory and LatCrit in Social Work Praxis. Latino Social Workers Organization. Portland, Oregon: Portland State University School of Social Work.
. (2022). Act Locally Think Globally: The Link Between Critical Race Theory and Human Rights. Leading Critical Conversations: Human Rights Are Global Rights. Anaheim, CA: Council on Social Work Education Annual Meeting.
Awards
- Emerging Scholar Award, Association for Community Organization and Social Action (ACOSA)
- Health Policy Research Scholars, Robert Wood Johnson
- Doctoral Fellow Award, Society for Social Work
- Outstanding Dissertation Competition Finalist, American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education
