When Denise Gutierrez was eight years old, she asked her mother for $5 to buy a Coke at the corner store. Her mother told her no, but if she could earn it, she could spend it. Gutierrez ran into her room, gathered up her children’s books, went door-to-door selling them—and made $10. Being resourceful shifted her way of thinking—always look for options.

But a high school counselor told her she wouldn’t amount to anything and should just drop out. She did. She could have been a statistic. “Education wasn’t my destiny,” she says, but she saw the opportunity it afforded others.

Luckily, her father was a social justice advocate. Her mother was ever supportive of Gutierrez, the youngest of five children growing up in El Sereno, California. As chairman of the board for SER Jobs for Progress, Gutierrez’s father helped low-income families overcome their employment barriers, which, in turn, empowered their communities and spurred economic mobility.

Her father’s lessons and best practices took root. When she married and years later had to find a way out of the abusive marriage—for her and her four children—the only way she knew how was through education. It would lead to financial freedom—and the ability to survive on her own.

The years of trials and tribulations made her stronger, more focused. As part of the Puente program and with mentors at Chaffey Community College, she was urged her to apply for scholarships, especially when she thought she’d need to drop out because she couldn’t afford textbooks one semester.

She was gaining momentum, confidence and direction when her disabled daughter passed away at the age of 13, devastating Gutierrez.

Eventually, she returned to school. Transferring to the University of La Verne, her life changed when she enrolled in leadership management courses and worked in the Academic Probation department. Her mission became clear: help students like her become financially literate and empower them with resources.

She graduated with a degree in sociology in 2010. Inspired by her tenacity, her daughter and son graduated shortly after her. Just after graduating, she filed for divorce. In 2013, she earned her Master’s in Leadership and Management. Her career trajectory covered institutional advancement, fundraising and corporate and foundation relations.

Her work seemed to parallel her father’s. His values guided her at each steppingstone.

As director of development for the College of Business and Economics at Cal State Los Angeles, her social currency of networking and contacts helped in fundraising. They implemented a partnership with the California Council on Economic Education (CCEE).  She helped set up the first Latino Education Access and Development (LEAD) conference. They estimated 300 people. More than 800 showed up.

With each new job and networking opportunity, Gutierrez helped students find their way—and she found hers. In 2019, she became president and CEO of the organization they’d partnered with at Cal State L.A.—the California Council on Economic Education (CCEE). Its motto: Education. Engagement. Economic Freedom.

“I was meant to do something more with my life,” says Gutierrez, elated at the challenge. “This is what I was meant to do.”

The California Council On Economic Education

The CCEE spearheaded legislation that requires all California students to complete at least one semester of economics in order to graduate. Through three main areas—Educator Training, Student Contests like the Personal Finance and National Economics Education Competitions, and K-12 Community Programs—the 60-year-old statewide organization provides economic and financial literacy training and resources to K-12 teachers, students, and their parents—with a focus on underserved communities.

The goal: help them gain a real-world understanding of economics and personal finance, so they can make better decisions to compete and succeed in the global economy.

Working with seven California State University (CSU) campuses and after-school programs at 22 schools, they serve more than 6 million students. They’ve trained more than 27,000 teachers on how to use economics in a more dynamic way that is relevant to students—like a market day or creating their own business—so they can understand economic concepts and apply them to their own lives.

“We want people not to fear money but understand how it works,” Gutierrez says. “It’s not an evil thing. When you’re financially secure, and educate kids to be financially secure, there is less poverty, homelessness, and lack of access to health care, education and secure housing.”

“We don’t teach them what to think,” she says. “We teach them how to think.”

The Core Of CCEE

Teacher development is core to the CCEE program and teachers are key.

“I always taught math, but economics is my passion,” says Dan Adler from Long Beach Polytech High School. In 2006, he read about a “National Economics Challenge” at Cal State San Bernardino and enrolled his students. “We were the absolute worst team there. I realized I needed to step up my game.”

“So many people are asked to teach econ with personal finance but it’s not what they know, yet it affects every one of us,” Adler explains. “CCEE professional development brings life to economics.”

Adler trained with CCEE for professional development—and it helped him reinvent his program. “It’s so heartening. You get take-aways that you can apply to your classrooms the next day.”

Wanting to get away from the AP rigor, he took advantage of the different types of competitions and entered his students in the business plan writing competition at UCLA. They started the volunteer Income Tax Program and became one of the biggest high school sites in the U.S. The students completed more than 900 tax returns for families and clients one year, Adler says.

“There’s a great joy of teaching when you see your students thrive.”

Never Too Late

Gutierrez believes in that power of education to change the course of a life. Even after being honored with the La Verne Spirit Award for Inclusivity and Diversity and being hailed as the 2014 Woman of the Year by Congresswoman Grace Napolitano’s office, she focuses on her father’s legacy.

Her deep commitment to be of service to her community continues alongside her work at CCEE. Nonprofits like the Latino Community Foundation and Making Education the Answer (META) Foundation keep her focused on helping build a secure economic future, especially for young students and women of color throughout the state.

“They are their own human capital,” Gutierrez says. “They need to invest in themselves. You absolutely have permission to become millionaires. Just don’t forget to come back.”  •