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.

Since 2007, Alvarez has worked for the Austin Independent School District. First, he held the position of Grassroots Community Coordinator for the Office of Redesign and since 2010 worked as an Administrative Supervisor for the Office of Teaching and Learning where he provided planning, research and administrative support for school improvement programs. Alvarez also served as AISD staff lead on community collaborations such as My Brother’s Keeper, Hispanic Futures, Missing School Matters, the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color, and the Eliminating Crime & Violence Community Collaboration.

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.