Community Well Being
with guest Raul Alvarez, Executive Director, Community Advancement Network
Raul Alvarez, our guest, has long served the Greater Austin area as a member of the Austin City Council, the Austin Community College Board of Trustees, and in many other capacities. Today, he serves as Executive Director of the Community Advancement Network (CAN) whose focus is “Improving social, health, educational and economic opportunities through partnership and collaboration”. Their motto is “Inform, Engage, Activate”. We explore Raul’s passion and CAN’s focus and resources in this episode.
Raul Alvarez Bio:
Raul Alvarez was hired to serve as CAN’s Executive Director in October 2015 and brings a diverse set of skills and experience to the organization. Alvarez served as an Austin City Council member from 2000 to 2006 and as a representative of the City Council on CAN’s governing board during that time. In 2004, he served as the Chair of the CAN governing board. After serving on the Austin City Council, Alvarez was elected to serve on the Austin Community College Board of Trustees from 2008 – 2010. He also served on the Board of Capital Metro, the Electric Utility Commission, and the Govalle/Johnston Neighborhood Planning Team. Alvarez is the board president of the East Austin Conservancy and a founding member of Futuro Fund Austin. Prior to serving as Executive Director for CAN, Alvarez worked for the Austin Independent School District, working as the Grassroots Community Coordinator for the Office of Redesign (2007 to 2010) and as Administrative Supervisor for the Office of Teaching and Learning (2010 to 2015). Alvarez holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University and a Master of Science in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas at Austin.