Gutiérrez-Graudinš began her career in 2002 as an Operations Manager at Oceanic Enterprises/ Agritrade USA. She managed end-to-end fresh seafood global supply chains, including sourcing tons of sardines each day to feed the farmed tuna. This job became increasingly challenging, and after reading a 2006 study outlining how the ocean could be empty by 2048, Gutiérrez-Graudinš decided to change careers.

She remained in fish but pivoted to marine conservation. In 2008, she became a Program Manager for Marine Conservation at Wildlife/Costasalvaje. She worked on a citizen advisory group mapping underwater parks in Southern California. Although the group was meant to represent southern California’s diversity, she found she was the only Spanish speaker, and there were no Spanish language materials. She took on the responsibility of developing outreach campaigns for Californian Latinos to increase support for marine conservation. Gutiérrez-Graudinš frequently faced racism from policymakers, the public, the organization’s partners, and even her colleagues.

In 2011, Gutiérrez-Graudinš was a consultant in Communications and Development at Terra Peninsular and a Community Manager for Best Apps Market. She also began working for Latinos in Social Media as the Director of the Bay Area Chapter. In 2011, she also founded Azul, a nonprofit dedicated to working with Latinos to protect the coast and ocean. From 2013 to 2016, Gutiérrez-Graudinš was the Program Director at Resource Media. She continues to serve as the Executive Director of Azul. As Executive Director she has served on several commissions, including the 2011 California Sustainable Seafood Initiative Advisory Panel, the Latino Conservation Alliance, and the Environmental Justice Working Group, CA State Lands Commission. Gutiérrez-Graudinš has designed and implemented a statewide marine protection network and created a sustainable fish market for California fishers.

Gutiérrez-Graudinš was a leader of the single-use plastic bag ban campaign. She also participated in the first Congressional Environmental Justice roundtable. In 2012, the Aspen Institute named Gutiérrez-Graudinš the Aspen Environment Forum Scholar. In 2013, she graduated from Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) Leadership Institute. In 2014, Latina Magazine recognized her work by naming her an “Inspiring Latina working for a cause.”

Since 2017, Gutiérrez-Graudinš has been a member of the Community Council for the UC Berkeley Latinx and Environment Initiative. Since 2019, she has served as the Vice Chair of the Governing Board for the California State Coastal Conservancy. Gutiérrez-Graudinš is a mentor for the RAY Marine Conservation Diversity Fellowship and on the advisory board for the Ocean Foundation.