Nancy Gutierrez serves as the Director of External Communications for the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). She brings over a decade of experience in strategic and crisis communication, including six years of dedicated service with DCYF.
Prior to public service, she was a newspaper reporter and layout editor for a chain of bilingual newspapers that was distributed throughout Los Angeles County. Her extensive media coverage of an ongoing environmental disaster and the response from California politicians and state agencies, not only earned her awards and community recognition but also deepened her understanding of how government agencies can effectively communicate with the public and media. Nancy also served as an Emergency Communications Officer for the City of Torrance, CA.
Nancy holds a master’s degree in strategic communications from Washington State University and a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast and Digital Journalism with a minor in Photography from the University of Southern California. She is also a member of Georgetown University’s Public Information Officers Learning Collaborative.