Claudia Sanchez-Lopez

Email: claudia_at_preventioninstitute_dot_org

Claudia is an accomplished community leader with over fifteen years’ experience in leading, managing, and establishing programs across various platforms. She is dedicated to connecting resources and collaborating with diverse teams to create processes that lead to opportunities for all. Her background in the non-profit sector included working at The YMCA of Greater Houston and most recently Avenue Community Development Corporation.

From 2010 to 2020, she held various leadership roles including Community Executive Director and Executive Director of Outreach with The YMCA of Greater Houston. She developed key community partnerships and outreach that allowed her to lead youth and adult programming in low-income communities. 

In 2021, Claudia joined Avenue as their Director of Community Initiatives where she oversaw and led their Comprehensive Community Development, Community Advocacy and Health Equity work in the Greater Northside.  This included managing a team working to bring a place-based approach to community transformation work that centered an understanding that home includes the community and people located in the neighborhood and that the state of one’s home and community has a powerful impact on health and wellbeing. Claudia also supported resident leadership and advocacy, working directly with residents to identify priorities, develop consensus on their vision for a healthy community, and supporting them to develop action plans and community projects.

Claudia has an extensive experience in collective impact work, facilitating and leading coalitions and committees, including the Greater Northside Partners Coalition, Hispanic/Latino Leadership Network, and Communities y Salud Greater Northside Collaborative.

Claudia was born in El Salvador but migrated with her family to Houston when she was 5 years old, she calls Houston, TX her home for the past 30 plus years. She is married and with her husband are parents to four lovely kids. Claudia has a BBA in Management specialization International Business from The University of Texas at San Antonio.