Debra Gittler

  • ConTextos

  • 2013 Global Fellow

Debra Gittler Echoing Green Fellow
  • ConTextos

  • 2013 Global Fellow

bold idea

Foster personal and collective healing by creating transformative spaces for stories to be authored and shared, and to spark individual and systemic change through self-determined narratives.

organization overview

ConTextos uses the power of education and personal narrative to promote healing and reflection, and to foster critical thinking and dialogue. They seek to lift up the voices and insights of people affected by trauma, to challenge assumptions, and to provoke change. ConTextos aims to intervene in networks of trauma in communities, schools and prisons by using the power of story and critical thinking to build empathy and understanding. They seek to decrease violence and help individuals and communities heal, and also to create a space for all to imagine what a thriving community means.

Personal Bio

Debra Gittler is the founder and executive director of ConTextos, an educational nonprofit that transforms the quality of education in El Salvador. Previously, she was the coordinator and lead author of El Salvador’s national teacher training policy in literacy, part of a regional effort at educational reform. She studied social entrepreneurship and international education policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and as a NYC Teaching Fellow taught fifth grade in the South Bronx. She is a 2015 Fellow at Schusterman Foundation and Aspen Institute Central American Leadership, and a 2016 Truman National Security Fellow.

  • Organization/Fellow Location ?

    Our most recent information as to where the Fellow primarily resides.

    Chicago, United States

  • Impact Location ?

    Countries or continents that were the primary focus of this Fellow’s work at the time of their Fellowship.

  • Organization Structure ?

    An organization can be structured as a nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid (a structure that incorporates both nonprofit and for-profit elements).

    Nonprofit

  • Visit website