Sally Gutierrez on the Need and Opportunity for Women, Hispanics and Other Underrepresented Entrepreneurs and Intrapreneurs in Water

As EPA's first Hispanic Woman Executive, Sally Gutierrez was serving as head of the EPA Drinking Water Lab in Cincinnati when EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson asked her to take charge of the new EPA Environmental Innovation Cluster Support Program - working to create "Communities of Support" for Entrepreneurship in the Water and Environmental Space. Since that time, the US has gone from having two Clusters (in Cincinnati and Milwaukee) to having dozens of Clusters throughout the country, with similar models being adopted in Canada and around the world!

In this Extraordinary Conversation, Sally shares with us her family's journey to the US and how her father's decision to emigrate was tied to water - and how that experience became a catalyst for Sally's career including her work with Hispanic Communities where children's health had been impacted by contamination.

Speaking for herself (and not on behalf of the EPA), Sally talked about the challenges that face both Women, Hispanic and other Underrepresented Water Entrepreneurs as well as Government Employees, ways in which USAJobs and the Federal Hiring Process can work against Women and BIPOC applicants, and how critical it is for Women and BIPOC Water Professionals of all ages to have access to mentorship programs (like the EPA's new "Latinas at EPA Advancing Professionally" or "LEAP" program)!