Claudia Aguirre

Claudia Aguirre is President & CEO of BakerRipley, one of the oldest, largest, and most highly recognized nonprofit community development organizations in the United States. With more than 1,400 employees and an annual operating budget exceeding $500 million, Claudia is responsible for ensuring that BakerRipley provides resources, education, and connection through 70 operating locations, including community centers, charter schools, Head Start sites, senior citizen centers, and Workforce Solutions offices that serve a combined total of more than half a million neighbors/clients every year.

Since joining BakerRipley in 2010, Claudia has served the organization as Vice President of Community-Based Initiatives, Superintendent of Promise Community Charter Schools, Senior Vice President, and Chief Program Officer. In these progressively responsible leadership roles, she has overseen operations and expansions of community centers and charter schools, guided development of a special school for immigrant and refugee children, enhanced programs for entrepreneurship, and immigration services, and she spearheaded the implementation of Appreciative Community Building, a strength-based approach to community engagement.

Under Claudia’s leadership, BakerRipley received widespread acclaim for administering the nation’s most successful COVID-19 rental assistance program that prevented thousands of evictions during the pandemic. The organization has also demonstrated excellence in its capacity to quickly ramp up and operate massive temporary shelters to help people displaced by natural disasters.

Claudia is a Class C Member and Deputy Chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Board of Directors. She also serves on the board of the Greater Houston Partnership and actively participates on various task forces for the City of Houston and for Harris County. She has been featured in national media and has been a speaker in programs for several organizations. Additionally, Claudia has been honored with numerous awards recognizing her professional leadership accomplishments and BakerRipley’s community contributions.

Claudia earned a B.A. in Political Science from St. Edward’s University and a M. Ed. from the University of Houston. She is also a Texas Education Agency certified teacher, principal, and superintendent and has completed the Education Executive Certification program at Harvard University.

In her free time, Claudia enjoys spending time with her family. She is the proud mother of two adult children – a son and a daughter.