The new CAN Executive Director is familiar to many in Austin. Raul Alvarez served as an Austin City Council member from 2000 to 2006 and represented the City Council as a member of CAN's governing board during that time. In 2004, he was elected Chair of the CAN governing board.
Since 2007, Alvarez has worked for the Austin Independent School District. First in the Office of Redesign as a Grassroots Community Organizer, where he managed initiatives for engaging parents and community in support of AISD's redesign activities. In 2010 he became Administrative Supervisor of AISD's School Turnaround Initiative and has served as the lead AISD staff member with external projects and collaborations, including the My Brother's Keeper Initiative, Hispanic Futures Program, Missing School Matters Task Force, Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color, and the Eliminating Crime & Violence Community Collaboration.
Alvarez served as a Trustee for Austin Community College from 2008 - 2010. He has also served on the Capital Metro Board of Directors, the Electric Utility Commission, and as a member of the Austin City Council's Telecommunications, Healthcare and Minority/Women-Owned Business Subcommittees. Alvarez is currently active on the board of the East Austin Conservancy and is a founding member of Futuro Fund Austin.
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.
