Marissa A. Gutiérrez-Vicario

 

Marissa Gutierrez-Vicario is the Founder and Executive Director of Art and Resistance Through Education (ARTE). As a committed human rights activist, artist, educator, and advocate for youth, Marissa launched ARTE in 2013 to help young people amplify their voices and organize for human rights change in their communities through the arts.

 

Since early childhood, Marissa became interested in the arts and its potential in bringing attention to important social issues within her community. At an early age, Marissa also developed the propensity to lead as a student activist and public servant through her involvement in several non-profit organizations, including: United Students Against Sweatshops, the Advocacy Lab, Public Allies New York, and Global Kids. In all of these experiences, Marissa realized the need to support young people in their development as organizers to help cultivate the next generation of social justice leaders.

 

Growing up in southern California, Marissa became active with the Unitarian Universalist Association, a faith-based, social justice community and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), a human rights organization, where she served as a Board Observer. Marissa currently serves as a Program Leader and as a member of the Advisory Board for the Unitarian Universalist College of Social Justice. Marissa also serves as the Vice President of Recruitment and Outreach for the Unitarian Universalist Women's Federation. 

 

As someone who is interested in building a global community of human rights activists and educators, Marissa has traveled to nearly 50 countries and has presented workshops in several, including South Africa, Cyprus, and Canada. In 2011, Marissa presented at the Council of Europe’s symposium on “Human Rights in Education,” at the European Court of Human Rights. In 2016, Marissa was awarded a fellowship with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations to travel across the Middle East to understand how to promote peace and address xenophobia across cultures. In 2016, Marissa was selected as an Ashoka Changemakers and American Express Emerging Innovator for her work as a social entrepreneur. Marissa also currently serves on the Steering Committee of Human Rights Educators USA. Most recently, Marissa was named as a Catherine Hannah Behrend Fellow in Visual Arts Management in the 2018 92Y Women inPower Fellowship Program. 

 

Marissa has written several publications focusing on the intersection of human rights, art education, and youth development, including the Huffington Post and Radical Teacher. Currently, Marissa serves as an Adjunct Lecturer at the City College of New York in the Art Education Department. 

 

Marissa holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations, from the University of Southern California, an M.P.A. from the Wagner School of Public Service at New York University, and an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

 

One of Marissa's favorite public art pieces is by French graffiti artist, J.R., called Women are Heroes. To contact Marissa, please e-mail marissa@artejustice.org.