Applied anthropologist Profile: Dr. Sylvia Jilal-Gutierrez, Registered Nurse and Professor Emeritus

Dr. Sylvia Jilal-Gutierrez

Today’s blog post is dedicated to discussing the rich career of applied anthropologist, Dr. Sylvia Jilal-Gutierrez.  Dr. Jilal-Gutierrez is a proud Latina-Lebanese woman who is currently enjoying her retirement after a long career that started in one lane but ended in another.  Dr. Jilal-Gutierrez began her career as a registered nurse after she graduated from Boston College in 1975.  For 16 years she worked in various nursing fields, including as a Charge Nurse, Staff Nurse, Community Health Nurse, Utilization Review Nurse.  During that time she also earned a Certificate in Health Care Management from Harvard (in 1987).

 

She took a brief break from professional work, and it was during this period that she began pursuing graduate study in anthropology.  In 1999 she earned her Master of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Connecticut.  From her she moved from private practice to working for non-governmental health care organizations, serving as a Health Research Consultant and then later a Social Science Research Consultant. Dr. Jalil-Gutierrez also served as a Connecticut Health Foundation Health Leadership Fellow in 2008.  She also served as an adjunct faculty member at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU).  In 2016 she earned her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Connecticut.

 

During her tenure as a consultant and academic she focused her research on various topics, many around central themes concerning nursing, health care, access to medical care, equity, racism in the nursing profession, and anti-racist practices within nursing.  She wrote about and spoke on these topics both with the scholarly literature, at conferences, and through various applied anthropological and nursing organizations.  In her dissertation she credited her parents as inspiring her to always ensure to seek equitable treatment of all, which is why they gave her their blessing when she pursued her anthropological studies since this a field that encourages such actions.  

 

Works Cited

Council on Nursing and Anthropology. (2025). Sylvia Jalil-Gutierrez, PhD. Retrieved from Council on Nursing and Anthropology: https://www.conaa.org/

Jilal-Gutierrez, S. (2006). Health care experiences of the uninsured at the dawn of the 21st century (Doctoral Thesis). Storrs: University of Connecticut.

Jilal-Gutierrez, S. (2025). LinkedIn Profile.