Norma Gutierrez, communications coordinator for Smart Energy Choices.
Norma Gutierrez (she/her) graduated from SUNY Cortland with a degree in New Media, after which she soon started putting her degree to work. She worked as a freelancer for some time, working with various nonprofits and small businesses to create their branding, materials, websites, and event promotions to better reach their audiences. Later, she worked part time as an adjunct instructor of graphic design and similar design courses at Tompkins Cortland Community College.
After teaching for some time, Norma joined the Way2Go program at Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County (CCETC), where she worked for 11 years. Way2Go educated residents on transportation resources in the county and how to reduce their carbon footprint by changing how they travel. Norma started work at Way2Go as an educator, and she later moved into a communications role, where she helped promote Way2Go’s offerings and programming.
Working on projects for Way2Go helped Norma understand the challenges and barriers faced by residents, and the importance of increasing access to solutions for people to improve their quality of life and ability to live affordably. So, when she heard that Way2Go was ending late in 2024, she wanted the chance to continue similar work and stay with CCETC. So, she transitioned into communications for energy and climate change programs at CCETC, including Smart Energy Choices, which is based at CCETC but serves all of the Southern Tier.
Now that Norma works for Smart Energy Choices, she’s enjoying the chance to get the word out about the services the Hub provides. She believes strongly in the Hub’s mission of lowering the energy burdens of the region’s most vulnerable populations, as they’re often the worst affected by climate change. She often leverages the connections she made through Way2Go and previous work to increase the Hub’s reach in the community.
““It’s important to also look at the environmental issues that are impacting the marginalized communities because most of the time they’re the ones being impacted first. … And so for me, it’s whatever I can do to be part of the solution for that and to share my perspective and experience with the community.””
Outside of her communications work, Norma is a mom with a college-aged daughter, so Norma enjoys spending time with her and watching her grow. She is also an artist and muralist who creates in her spare time, and she loves walking in nature and taking nature photos.