CHQ Book Read
About
The YWCA of Jamestown and Chautauqua Institution are pleased to
announce the fourth year of the county-wide initiative – The
Chautauqua County Book Read. We invite all Chautauqua County
residents to participate in this book read. We have selected My Side of the River by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez. as our common read book. The purpose of this shared book read is to engage Chautauqua County residents, businesses, nonprofits and organizations to help heal our divides and propel participants to be engaged citizens working towards a more inclusive and just society.
Those interested in participating are invited to register via this link. Each participant is also encouraged to attend one book discussion group between May 12-23, 2024. In-person and online book discussion groups will be offered. Information on the times and locations of the book discussions is available via the registration link below:
Additionally, participants are invited to attend a live lecture on Thursday, July 17th 2025 at 3:30 pm with the author, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez, at the Hall of Philosophy on the Chautauqua Institution grounds. This day has been designated as “Chautauqua County Day” at the Institution, and all Chautauqua County residents are eligible for free admission and parking. Information on how to order complimentary gate and parking passes for this event will be posted in the coming weeks at chqcounty.chq.org.
The YWCA of Jamestown and Chautauqua Institution are serving as lead organizations for this initiative. We are pleased to announce that this program is part of a community-wide effort. Please look for more information about participating at one of our partner organizations:
We encourage participants to purchase their own copy of the book, if possible. Please note that many of the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System libraries already have a limited supply of this book. If you represent an organization that would like to support this effort, please reach out to the contacts listed below.
For more information, please contact:
Amanda Gesing, Executive Director, YWCA of Jamestown (agesing@ywcajamestown.com)
Amit Taneja, Senior VP & Chief IDEA Officer, Chautauqua Institution (ataneja@chq.org)
Danica Olson, Project Coordinator, CHQ Book Read (chqbookread@ywcajamestown.com)
Our Sponsors:
Our Partners:
More About the Author
Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez
Author, Speaker, Product Manager
Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez is a storyteller, advocate, and author of My Side of the River, a memoir published by St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan in February 2024.
Raised in Tucson, Arizona, near the U.S.–Mexico border, Elizabeth faced family separation at 15 when her parents were forced to return to Mexico. Choosing to stay behind, she navigated homelessness and graduated high school as valedictorian.
She earned a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018, receiving honors such as HSF Scholar of the Year and U.S. Department of State Gilman Scholar.
Elizabeth began her career in finance at Wells Fargo, later giving a viral TED Talk on immigration and resilience. In 2021, she transitioned into tech as a Product Manager at Meta.
Since the release of her memoir, she’s been featured on NPR and Hola! Magazine, with the book earning praise as a New York Times Editor's Pick and a Goodreads Most Anticipated Book of 2024.
