About Rose

A native of Starr County, Rose currently serves as the President of the Starr County Industrial Foundation (SCIF), the County economic development agency. In this capacity, she has witnessed the difficulties of overcoming high unemployment and poverty levels, to that end she has worked hard to assist in eliminating such obstacles, by dedicating her professional career to developing the local economy, while improving access to education and creating job opportunities. The organization she leads has become an inherent part of Starr County and during her tenure has reinvigorated its economic outlook with over $310 million dollars of new investment and the creation of over 4,100 jobs. As a strong proponent of education and a fervent believer in the resilience and capability of the region’s residents, she continues to advocate for the development of curriculum and programs that complement education and skills training with practical job opportunities.

Rose was elected to the South Texas College Board of Trustees in November 2009 to fill a vacancy created by the passing of founding board member Manuel Benavidez, Jr. Her leadership and dedication to higher education was quickly recognized by her colleagues and in May 2012 she was named Board Chair, a position she currently holds and was further acknowledged nationally as her peers in the Association of Latino Community College Trustees (ALCCT) appointed her to their Executive Committee and elected her Secretary of this renowned international organization.

Rose received her BA in Political Science and her Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Texas Pan American and has attained her Basic Economic Development Certification from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). She is the current Chair of Rio South Texas Economic Development (RSTEC), a current board member of Border Region MHMR (Vice-Chair) and Workforce Solutions. She additionally serves on numerous regional, state and national advisory councils, among them the Texas Business and Education Coalition and the Bill Gates Foundation Completion by Design Advisory Board.