Gerardo Gauthier-Zayas is a Puerto Rican, first-generation American storyteller, educator, and entrepreneur whose life has been shaped by one enduring question: what does it take to belong? Raised the seventh of eight children in Boston's Cathedral Projects, he grew up navigating a household defined by faith, machismo, and love that didn't always know how to say its name, an experience he writes about in his debut memoir, 629.
That same throughline, the search for belonging, carried into his professional life. Gerardo has spent more than two decades working across nonprofit leadership, healthcare, and higher education. His doctoral research on BIPOC college presidents surfaced a truth many leaders live but rarely say out loud: authenticity in leadership remains conditional. That insight now drives both his writing and his consulting work, helping leaders show up fully instead of performing a version of themselves that others find comfortable.
In 2015, he founded Avant Consulting and Training, LLC, a leadership coaching and business strategy firm. He also serves as Adjunct Faculty at Bay Path University, teaching Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nonprofit Organizations, and sits on the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network's Budget and Policy Center. He previously served as Co-Chair of the Board for Caring Health Center, Inc.
Gerardo holds a Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration from New England College and an MBA in Healthcare Administration from Plymouth State University. He is fully bilingual in English and Spanish, and is a regular speaker at leadership conferences, most recently as a featured speaker at the 2025 NHBEB Spring Conference.
His guiding principle, in both his writing and his work: see us, hear us, respect us.
Dr. Gerardo Gauthier-Zayas is a Puerto Rican, first-generation American storyteller, educator, and entrepreneur whose life has been shaped by one enduring question: what does it take to belong? Raised the seventh of eight children in Boston's Cathedral Projects, he grew up navigating a household defined by faith, machismo, and love that didn't always know how to say its name, an experience he writes about in his debut memoir, 629.
That same throughline, the search for belonging, carried into his professional life. Gerardo has spent more than two decades working across nonprofit leadership, healthcare, and higher education. His doctoral research on BIPOC college presidents surfaced a truth many leaders live but rarely say out loud: authenticity in leadership remains conditional. That insight now drives both his writing and his consulting work, helping leaders show up fully instead of performing a version of themselves that others find comfortable.
In 2015, he founded Avant Consulting and Training, LLC, a leadership coaching and business strategy firm. He also serves as Adjunct Faculty at Bay Path University, teaching Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Nonprofit Organizations, and sits on the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network's Budget and Policy Center. He previously served as Co-Chair of the Board for Caring Health Center, Inc.
Gerardo holds a Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration from New England College and an MBA in Healthcare Administration from Plymouth State University. He is fully bilingual in English and Spanish, and is a regular speaker at leadership conferences, most recently as a featured speaker at the 2025 NHBSR Spring Conference.
His guiding principle, in both his writing and his work: see us, hear us, respect us.
Discover the journey, experiences, and story behind the person who inspires the work.
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