Rosa Gumataotao Rios
Encyclopedia
Rosa "Rosie" Gumataotao Rios (born July 17, 1965) is the 43rd and current Treasurer of the United States
. She is the sixth Latina to occupy the office as well as the third consecutive Californian
.
As U.S. Treasurer, Rios' duties include oversight of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
, the United States Mint
, and the United States Savings Bonds Division (now the Savings Bond Marketing Office within the Bureau of the Public Debt
). Additionally, she advises the Director of the Mint, the Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Deputy Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury on matters relating to coinage, currency and the production of other instruments by the United States.
, was born to Guadalupe Rios. Her parents divorced about 1974 and she and her eight siblings were raised in Hayward, California
solely by their mother. In order to help out, Rios obtained a job processing books at an Alameda County library warehouse. She worked long hours, often coming home late at night and working on her homework into the early morning hours.
Rios attended Moreau Catholic High School
in Hayward in the early 1980s. After graduating from college she lived in Fremont
for seven years and eventually moved to Castro Valley
.
In 1983, Rios attended Harvard University
with the intention of eventually returning to California and going to work in the state Department of Education
. Four years later, she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Romance Languages and Literature and having completed a thesis on the "changing notions of Latino identity" focusing on the writings of Tomas Rivera
and Sandra Cisneros
.
where she became the city's redevelopment agency manager and, later, a development specialist for nearby San Leandro
.
In 1997, Rios became the director of economic development for Fremont, a position that she held for four years. She then moved on to Oakland
, where in 2001 she was hired as that city's director of economic development and redevelopment. During her tenure, Rios was credited with revitalizing the city's flagging economy by attracting hundreds of new businesses and initiating several new development projects. She became known as a "can do manager who was well liked" and garnered praise from city officials.
and city manager Robert Bobb
. Bobb was a strong advocate for building a new baseball stadium complex for the Oakland Athletics
in the uptown area as an effort to keep the team from moving out of the city. Mayor Brown instead backed a huge housing development project by Forest City Enterprises
. Rios supported Bobb's plan which included retail and entertainment redevelopment. By the following year, Brown had prevailed and removed Bobb from his position. He also fired several of the city manager's allies including Rios. Rios later came out in favor of the housing project.
to Washington, DC in 2005. The following year, Rios moved on to MacFarlane Partners, a real estate investment firm in San Francisco, as its investments managing director. 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 volunteered to work for the presidential campaign
of Sen. Barack Obama
. While with Team Obama, she put her skills to use in convincing Latinos in Virginia
to vote for the Democratic nominee. Upon the Illinois senator's victory in November, Rios took an official leave of absence from MacFarlane to join his Treasury-Federal Reserve transition team as the lead staff member for external stakeholder outreach on behalf of the Treasury.
On May 18, 2009, President Obama officially nominated Rios as U.S. Treasurer. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 24.
name appeared on U.S. currency. In addition to her regular duties, Rios announced that she would tailor her duties in order to help citizens recover from the recession. She also acknowledged the important role that her post has acquired in recent years in promoting financial literacy and education.
At the time of her confirmation, Rios was serving as a Trustee of the Alameda County Employees Retirement Association as well as on the boards of California Association of Local Economic Development, the Fruitvale Spanish-Speaking Unity Council and the Toigo Foundation. She is also a Fellow with the Royal Society for the Arts.
Rios' confirmation caused excitement on Guam
, where her in-laws have a political presence. Her husband's uncle, Vicente D. "Ben" Gumataotao, is the mayor of the commercially important town of Piti
, while his first cousin, Joanne Camacho, is the wife of Guam's governor, Felix Perez Camacho
. Another cousin is Guam Superior Court Judge Vernon Perez. First Lady Camacho called Rios' elevation a "giant step forward for minorities in the United States and insular area
s."
Treasurer of the United States
The Treasurer of the United States is an official in the United States Department of the Treasury that was originally charged with the receipt and custody of government funds, though many of these functions have been taken over by different bureaus of the Department of the Treasury...
. She is the sixth Latina to occupy the office as well as the third consecutive Californian
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
As U.S. Treasurer, Rios' duties include oversight of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...
, the United States Mint
United States Mint
The United States Mint primarily produces circulating coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792, and placed within the Department of State...
, and the United States Savings Bonds Division (now the Savings Bond Marketing Office within the Bureau of the Public Debt
Bureau of the Public Debt
The Bureau of the Public Debt is an agency within the Fiscal Service of the United States Treasury Department. Under authority derived from Article I, section 8 of the Constitution, Public Debt is responsible for borrowing the money needed to operate the federal government, and is where donations...
). Additionally, she advises the Director of the Mint, the Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Deputy Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury on matters relating to coinage, currency and the production of other instruments by the United States.
Early life
Rios, a first generation Mexican AmericanMexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
, was born to Guadalupe Rios. Her parents divorced about 1974 and she and her eight siblings were raised in Hayward, California
Hayward, California
Hayward is a city located in the East Bay in Alameda County, California. With a population of 144,186, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda County. Hayward was ranked as the 37th most populous municipality in California. It is included in...
solely by their mother. In order to help out, Rios obtained a job processing books at an Alameda County library warehouse. She worked long hours, often coming home late at night and working on her homework into the early morning hours.
Rios attended Moreau Catholic High School
Moreau Catholic High School
Moreau Catholic High School is a college preparatory Roman Catholic secondary school founded by the Southwest Province of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. It is located in Hayward, California, within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland under the care of Salvatore J. Cordileone, the Bishop of...
in Hayward in the early 1980s. After graduating from college she lived in Fremont
Fremont
- Places :- Other uses :*The Fremont Bridge , in Portland, Oregon*The Fremont Bridge , in Seattle, Washington*Fremont River , a tributary of the Colorado River*Mount Fremont, Washington, in maximum elevation...
for seven years and eventually moved to Castro Valley
Castro Valley, California
Castro Valley is a census-designated place in Alameda County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, it is the fifth most populous unincorporated area in California, and the twenty-third in the United States...
.
In 1983, Rios attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
with the intention of eventually returning to California and going to work in the state Department of Education
California Department of Education
The California Department of Education is a California agency that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement...
. Four years later, she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology and Romance Languages and Literature and having completed a thesis on the "changing notions of Latino identity" focusing on the writings of Tomas Rivera
Tomás Rivera
Tomás Rivera was a Chicano author, poet, and educator. He was born in Texas to migrant farm workers, and worked in the fields as a young boy...
and Sandra Cisneros
Sandra Cisneros
Sandra Cisneros is an American writer best known for her acclaimed first novel The House on Mango Street and her subsequent short story collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories...
.
Public career
Rios developed strong roots in business and government in Northern California and became an expert in economic development. After graduating from Harvard, she was hired as a commercial property underwriter for General Reinsurance, a San Francisco-based insurance company. Rios eventually moved to Union CityUnion City, California
Union City is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It was incorporated in 1959, combining the communities of Alvarado and Decoto. Alvarado was the original county seat of Alameda County, and the site of the first county courthouse is a California Historical Landmark . The city...
where she became the city's redevelopment agency manager and, later, a development specialist for nearby San Leandro
San Leandro, California
San Leandro is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is considered a suburb of Oakland and San Francisco. The population was 84,950 as of 2010 census. The climate of the city is mild throughout the year.-Geography and water resources:...
.
In 1997, Rios became the director of economic development for Fremont, a position that she held for four years. She then moved on to Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, where in 2001 she was hired as that city's director of economic development and redevelopment. During her tenure, Rios was credited with revitalizing the city's flagging economy by attracting hundreds of new businesses and initiating several new development projects. She became known as a "can do manager who was well liked" and garnered praise from city officials.
Stadium controversy
In 2002, Rios became embroiled in a dispute between mayor Jerry BrownJerry Brown
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. is an American politician. Brown served as the 34th Governor of California , and is currently serving as the 39th California Governor...
and city manager Robert Bobb
Robert Bobb
Robert C. Bobb is an appointed official who has been the Emergency Financial Manager for the Detroit Public Schools since 2009. In addition to being employed by the school district, he receives a salary from private foundations that promote school choice and privatization, and is the owner of a...
. Bobb was a strong advocate for building a new baseball stadium complex for the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
in the uptown area as an effort to keep the team from moving out of the city. Mayor Brown instead backed a huge housing development project by Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...
. Rios supported Bobb's plan which included retail and entertainment redevelopment. By the following year, Brown had prevailed and removed Bobb from his position. He also fired several of the city manager's allies including Rios. Rios later came out in favor of the housing project.
Consulting career
Rios soon became a principal partner at Red River Associates, a consulting firm specializing in economic development and project management- in particular, for small cities and public agencies. While at Red River, she played an important role in luring the Montreal ExposMontreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
to Washington, DC in 2005. The following year, Rios moved on to MacFarlane Partners, a real estate investment firm in San Francisco, as its investments managing director. 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 volunteered to work for the presidential campaign
Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois, on February 10, 2007. On August 27, 2008, he was declared nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election...
of Sen. Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. While with Team Obama, she put her skills to use in convincing Latinos in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to vote for the Democratic nominee. Upon the Illinois senator's victory in November, Rios took an official leave of absence from MacFarlane to join his Treasury-Federal Reserve transition team as the lead staff member for external stakeholder outreach on behalf of the Treasury.
On May 18, 2009, President Obama officially nominated Rios as U.S. Treasurer. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 24.
U.S. Treasurer
Rios was sworn in on August 20, 2009. She had previously provided her first signature to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing for use on U.S. currency on August 6. As it included her husband's name of Gumataotao, it marked the first time a ChamorroChamorro language
Chamorro is a Malayo-Polynesian language, spoken on the Mariana Islands by about 47,000 people Chamorro (Chamorro: Fino' Chamoru or simply Chamoru) is a Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) language, spoken on the Mariana Islands (Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan) by about 47,000 people Chamorro...
name appeared on U.S. currency. In addition to her regular duties, Rios announced that she would tailor her duties in order to help citizens recover from the recession. She also acknowledged the important role that her post has acquired in recent years in promoting financial literacy and education.
Personal
Rios is married to Guamanian Jose Diaz "Joe" Gumataotao, Jr., an information technology executive. They have two children- Joey (born 1996) and Brooke (born 2000)- and reside in Potomac, Maryland. Among her family, Rios is particularly close to her brother, Jaime Rios, as well as her mother whom she credits with inspiring her own accomplishments.At the time of her confirmation, Rios was serving as a Trustee of the Alameda County Employees Retirement Association as well as on the boards of California Association of Local Economic Development, the Fruitvale Spanish-Speaking Unity Council and the Toigo Foundation. She is also a Fellow with the Royal Society for the Arts.
Rios' confirmation caused excitement on Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, where her in-laws have a political presence. Her husband's uncle, Vicente D. "Ben" Gumataotao, is the mayor of the commercially important town of Piti
Piti, Guam
Piti is a village located on the western shore of Guam. It contains the commercial port of Guam at Apra Harbor as well as several of the island’s largest power plants.- Education :Guam Public School System serves the island....
, while his first cousin, Joanne Camacho, is the wife of Guam's governor, Felix Perez Camacho
Felix Perez Camacho
Felix Perez Camacho is a former Governor of Guam and son of former Governor Carlos Camacho. He is a member of the United States Republican Party....
. Another cousin is Guam Superior Court Judge Vernon Perez. First Lady Camacho called Rios' elevation a "giant step forward for minorities in the United States and insular area
Insular area
An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the United States...
s."