Rosa Rios
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Rosa Gumataotao Rios (born July 17, 1965) is an American business leader who served as the 43rd
Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as the custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage pr ...
from 2009 to 2016,Carla Marinucci
"Obama selects Bay Area Latina as his choice for U.S. Treasurer,"
''San Francisco Chronicle'' (May 15, 2009).
and was a visiting scholar at the
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, also known as the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, is an institute of Harvard University that fosters interdisciplinary research across the humanities, sciences, social sciences, arts ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in the late 2010s.


Early life and education

Rios was born the sixth of nine children in
Hayward, California Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area, and the third largest in ...
. Rios' mother, an immigrant from Mexico, raised all nine children on her own and with the support of their church, sent all of her children to Catholic schools and off to college. All nine children worked at a young age. Rios worked beginning in her freshman year of high school at the office headquarters for the
Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. A ...
Library System. Rios stated that she "had won the lottery with this job" as she had access to any book she ever wanted to read and that her experience and reading during this period led in part to her acceptance to Harvard University. Of working as a student in the Harvard libraries, she reported, "To go from the county library in my hometown of Hayward to
Widener Library The Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, housing some 3.5million books, is the centerpiece of the Harvard Library system. It honors 1907 Harvard College graduate and book collector Harry Elkins Widener, and was built by his mother Eleanor Elki ...
was like winning the lottery.” Rios went to Saint Clement and Rios soon graduated from
Moreau Catholic High School Moreau Catholic High School is a Catholic high school sponsored by the Moreau Province of the Congregation of Holy Cross. It is located in Hayward, California, within the Diocese of Oakland. History Moreau Catholic High School opened its door ...
in 1983. She attended Harvard, and graduated in 1987 with high honors. with a
double major Joint degrees are academic qualifications awarded through integrated curricula often jointly coordinated and delivered by multiple higher education institutions, sometimes across different countries. Graduates may receive a single qualification ...
in Sociology and
Romance Languages The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...
and Literatures. She received the Dean's Award as the founder of Cultural Rhythms and is one of the few U.S. recipients of the Silver Medal Award from the
Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
in
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
. Rios was hired by General Reinsurance Corporation as a Commercial Property Underwriter to analyze the risks of commercial investments.


Public career

Rios was hired in 1994 by the City of San Leandro as a Development Specialist. She developed strong roots in business and government in
Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
and became an expert in economic development and redevelopment for the cities of Union City, and Fremont before moving on to Oakland in 2003 as the Director of Redevelopment and Economic Development for the City of Oakland. She has been a member, then chair, of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission since 2016.


Consulting career

In 2003, Rios became a principal partner at Red River Associates, a consulting firm specializing in economic development and
project management Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...
. While at Red River, she teamed with the Assistant General Manager of Infrastructure to restructure the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission in preparation for the seismic retrofit of the
Hetch Hetchy Hetch Hetchy is a valley, reservoir, and water system in California in the United States. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years before ...
water system, one of the nation's largest capital improvement programs.
Robert Bobb Robert C. Bobb is a former appointed official who was the Emergency Financial Manager for the Detroit Public Schools until 2011. In addition to having been employed by the school district, he received a salary from private foundations that promo ...
, who at that time was serving as the City Administrator for
Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, recruited Rios to assist with the recruitment of the
Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...
to become the
Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...
in 2005 including the revitalization of the
Anacostia River The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid-Atlantic states, Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Ch ...
waterfront. The following year, Rios became Managing Director of Investments for MacFarlane Partners, a real estate investment firm based in San Francisco. While there, she was responsible for the firm's urban investment and development programs throughout Northern California and consulting with local municipalities. In 2008, Rios was invited to collaborate in the efforts of the Obama campaign to secure the state of Virginia in the 2008 presidential elections. She developed a strategy using the fan base of the
DC United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppor ...
soccer team to register Latinos in Virginia. Many have said that this was a key tipping point necessary for the victory of then-Senator
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
to win the democratic vote for the first time since 1964 in his campaign to become the President of the United States. Rios was asked to be one of 23 finance professionals to join the Treasury-
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...
transition team during the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
.


Treasurer of the United States

On May 18, 2009, President Obama nominated Rios to be
Treasurer of the United States The treasurer of the United States is an officer in the United States Department of the Treasury who serves as the custodian and trustee of the federal government's collateral assets and the supervisor of the department's currency and coinage pr ...
and was confirmed by the Senate unanimously on July 24, 2009. Rios was sworn in on August 20, 2009. Her signature was initially taken on her first day of the job (August 6), and first appeared on US paper currency the day after Thanksgiving 2009. Rios was also a part of the team that implemented the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the G ...
with an emphasis on the
Build America Bonds Build America Bonds are taxable municipal bonds that carry special tax credits and federal subsidies for either the bond issuer or the bondholder. Build America Bonds were created under Section 1531 of Title I of Division B of the American Recovery ...
(BAB) program. Rios convened and trained state and local government officials and other stakeholders on how to access and utilize Build America Bonds to fund major infrastructure projects during the economic recovery. Rios was the Chief Executive Officer of the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the Federal Government of the United States, United States governm ...
and the
United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury, Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bull ...
. She oversaw all currency and coin production activities. Rios was the first Treasurer to have her portfolio which also included the Chair of the Advanced
Counterfeiting A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...
Deterrence Steering Committee and Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury in the areas of community development and public engagement. Her signature currently appeared on $1.2 trillion out of the $1.4 trillion in circulation worldwide when she stepped aside. Her almost eight-year effort to redesign the nation's currency included the first-ever nationwide public engagement process in the history of the federal government using a social media portal, roundtables and town halls. Rios began pushing for the change soon after she joined the Obama Administration in 2009. Her presentation to then-Treasury Secretary
Tim Geithner Timothy Franz Geithner (; born August 18, 1961) is an American former central banker who served as the 75th United States secretary of the treasury under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. He was the President of the Federal Reserve Bank o ...
went so well, she told CNN afterwards, that she left the room convinced the cause was sailing forward. Rios stepped down as Treasurer; her last day in office was July 11, 2016. Rios was the longest serving Senate-confirmed Treasury official beginning with her time on the Treasury/Federal Reserve Transition Team in November 2008 during the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
.


Later career

After the end of her tenure at Treasury, Rios launched an organization called Empowerment 2020 at the
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, also known as the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, is an institute of Harvard University that fosters interdisciplinary research across the humanities, sciences, social sciences, arts ...
, where she was working as a visiting scholar. In November 2020, Rios was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the
United States Department of Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...
. In May 2021, Rios joined the board of directors at
Ripple Labs Ripple Labs, Inc. is an American technology company which offers enterprise blockchain products on the XRP Ledger and other networks. Originally named Opencoin and renamed in 2015, the company was founded in 2012 and is based in San Francisco, C ...
. That year she also joined the cast of judges/investors on the streaming series '' Unicorn Hunters'', where entrepreneurs pitch investing in their businesses and the audience at home can also choose to invest alongside the judges. Fellow judges on the show include
Lance Bass James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, actor, and producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the Bass (voice type), bass singer for the boy band NSYNC. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of ...
and
Steve Wozniak Stephen Gary Wozniak (; born August 11, 1950), also known by his nickname Woz, is an American technology entrepreneur, electrical engineer, computer programmer, philanthropist, and inventor. In 1976, he co-founded Apple Inc., Apple Computer with ...
. On January 11, 2018, Rios was named a commissioner of the
United States Semiquincentennial Commission The United States Semiquincentennial Commission is the Congressionally-appointed body in charge of promoting and coordinating the United States Semiquincentennial. The commission has been chaired by Rosie Rios since July 2022. Formation Estab ...
. She was appointed chair of the commission by President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
in July 2022, succeeding Dan DiLella.


Awards and honors

Upon her resignation in 2016, Rios received the Hamilton Award, the highest honor bestowed in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In April 2015, a portrait of Rios was unveiled at
Winthrop House John Winthrop House, commonly known as Winthrop House, is one of 12 undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which houses approximately 400 upper class undergraduates. Winthro ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, where she lived as an undergraduate—the first portrait of a Hispanic female to hang on a wall in Harvard College. Rios was inducted into the
Maryland Women's Hall of Fame Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
in 2019. In 2020 she was named among Maryland's "Women of the Century" by ''
USAToday ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquart ...
''.


Personal life

Rios has two children, Joey and Brooke.


Notes


External links


U.S. Department of the TreasuryMacFarlane Partners.Makers VideoThe View InterviewRosie Rios
Video produced by '' Makers: Women Who Make America'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rios, Rosa Gumataotao 1965 births American politicians of Mexican descent California Democrats Harvard University alumni Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Living people Obama administration personnel People from Hayward, California Politicians from San Francisco Treasurers of the United States Women in California politics People from San Leandro, California Catholics from California 21st-century American women politicians