Ana Sol Gutierrez

Ana Sol Gutierrez is the first Latina elected to public office in Maryland – in 1990 to the Montgomery County Board of Education and in 2002 when she was elected to the House of Delegates in the Maryland General Assembly.

Born in Santa Ana, El Salvador, she moved with her family to Silver Spring, Maryland when her father was appointed as one of the founding directors of the World Bank International Monetary Fund in 1949. As a child, she lived both in Maryland and in San Salvador, El Salvador.

She attended Montgomery County Public Schools for primary, middle school and high school, graduating from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in 1960. She attended Pennsylvania State University and spent her junior year abroad in Geneva, Switzerland where she attended Université de Geneva for the 1962 – 1963 school year. She graduated in 1964 with a B.S. in Chemistry. She is tri-lingual, being fluent in English, Spanish and French.

Gutierrez continued her graduate education with studies at George Washington University and The American University, leading to a Master’s degree in Management Technology and Computer Sciences.

After marrying in 1965 and working as a computer analyst in Geneva, Switzerland, she and her husband returned to live in Chevy Chase, Maryland. She has three sons and has maintained her residency in Chevy Chase for more than 50 years, having purchased her home in 1968.

From 1975 to 1981, she and her family lived in Venezuela, Bolivia and Peru, where she taught computer science courses at national universities before returning to Maryland in 1981.

Gutierrez was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Education in 1990 and served two four-year terms, including serving as President of the Board in 1994. In 2002, she was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates and served there for 16 years representing Montgomery County District 18. She is the first Latina ever elected to pubic office in both Montgomery County and in Maryland, and she is the first Salvadoran-American ever elected to public office anywhere in the United States. She was twice recognized among the “100 Most Influential Hispanics in the USA” by Hispanic Magazine, and twice named among Maryland’s Top 100 Women by The Daily Record. She served on national boards including the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Will/WAND, and the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators, and serves as a Trustee of Capitol University - an engineering college in Laurel, Maryland.

A chemist and computer systems engineer by profession, Gutierrez was appointed by President Clinton in 1994 as Deputy Administrator for Research and Special Programs (RSPA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation. She worked for more than 30 years in information technology in the public and private sector with major IT firms on government contracts at NASA, FAA, USDOT, Education, and State Departments. She is a recognized leader and role model for women in the fields of science and technology (STEM).

Her many years of service and clear focus on fighting for social justice, human rights and education equity include fighting to protect women’s/human/civil rights though her support of the Marriage Equality Act, in-state tuition and equal access reforms such as ensuring eligibility for Maryland drivers’ licenses for all, regardless of immigration status. She championed efforts to expand language access both for state government services and in public schools. She worked to establish the Seal of Bi-Literacy to recognize dual language competency in high schools throughout Maryland. Her important legislative initiatives included: stronger gun control laws (mandatory reporting of “lost” guns; reducing bullets in gun magazines); protecting consumers from fraud/abuses; expanding health services to women, the disabled, immigrants and families of low income. She fought for increases in the Maryland minimum wage and promoted fair taxation reforms. Del. Gutierrez promoted passage of balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility as Chair of the House Committee for Management of Public Funds and as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Health and Human Services and Public Safety Subcommittees. She also served on the House Judiciary Committee, was a member of the Women’s Caucus, and helped found the first House New American and Latino Caucus.

“We must dedicate ourselves whenever and wherever possible to ensure that all children – no matter their gender, race, ethnicity, family heritage or birth place – have opportunities to achieve their fullest individual potential. I believe opportunity doors are opened especially through wide access to equitable, high quality education, health and social services, and reliable community supports.” – Ana Sol Gutierrez