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Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez

Biography

Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez

Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, as a second-generation immigrant. She graduated from high school at the top of her class and, in 2018, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics. She worked as a banking analyst at Wells Fargo and is now a product manager at a big tech company, where she uses her background and knowledge to empower communities. She has been featured on NPR’s "Latino USA" and delivered a viral TED Talk on finding opportunity and stability in the United States while examining flaws in narratives that simplify and idealize the immigrant experience. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez

Books by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez

My Side of the River: A Memoir
by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez - Memoir, Nonfiction

Born to Mexican immigrants south of the Rillito River in Tucson, Arizona, Elizabeth had the world at her fingertips. She was preparing to enter her freshman year of high school as the number one student when her own country suddenly took away the most important right a child has: the right to have a family. When her parents’ visas expired and they were forced to return to Mexico, Elizabeth was left responsible for her younger brother, as well as her education. Even though her parents couldn’t stay, there was no way she could let go of the opportunities the U.S. could provide. Armed with only her passport, Elizabeth became what her school would eventually describe as an unaccompanied homeless youth, one of thousands of underage victims affected by family separation due to broken immigration laws.