Rosa Gumataotao Rios | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2009 | |
| Chairwoman of theUnited States Semiquincentennial Commission | |
| Assumed office 2022 | |
| Appointed by | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Dan DiLella |
| 43rdTreasurer of the United States | |
| In office August 6, 2009 – July 11, 2016 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Anna Escobedo Cabral |
| Succeeded by | Jovita Carranza |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rosa Rios (1965-07-17)July 17, 1965 (age 60) Hayward, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Joe Gumataotao |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
Rosa Gumataotao Rios (born July 17, 1965) is a Mexican-American business leader who served as the 43rdTreasurer of the United States from 2009 to 2016, and was a visiting scholar at theRadcliffe Institute for Advanced Study atHarvard University in the late 2010s. In 2022,Joe Biden appointed her as the chairwoman of theUnited States Semiquincentennial Commission.
Rios was born the sixth of nine children inHayward, California.[1] Her father, who was from Mexico, was a seasonalmigrant worker at theHunt's tomato factory.[2] Rios' mother, also an immigrant from Mexico, raised all nine children on her own and with the support of their church,[3][4] sent all of her children to Catholic schools and off to college.[5][6] All nine children worked at a young age. Rios worked beginning in her freshman year of high school at the office headquarters for theAlameda County 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.[7] Of working as a student in the Harvard libraries, she reported, "To go from the county library in my hometown of Hayward toWidener Library was like winning the lottery.”[8]
Rios went to Saint Clement and Rios soon graduated fromMoreau Catholic High School in 1983.[9] She attended Harvard, and graduated in 1987 with high honors.[10] with adouble major in Sociology andRomance Languages and Literatures.[11] 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 theRoyal Society of Arts inBritain.[12] Rios was hired byGeneral Reinsurance Corporation as a Commercial Property Underwriter to analyze the risks of commercial investments.[13]
Rios was hired in 1994 by theCity of San Leandro as a Development Specialist.[1][14] She developed strong roots in business and government inNorthern California 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.[15] She has been a member, then chair, of theU.S. Semiquincentennial Commission since 2016.
In 2003, Rios became a principal partner at Red River Associates, a consulting firm specializing in economic development andproject management. 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 theHetch Hetchy water system, one of the nation's largest capital improvement programs.
Robert Bobb, who at that time was serving as the City Administrator forWashington DC, recruited Rios to assist with the recruitment of theMontreal Expos to become theWashington Nationals in 2005 including the revitalization of theAnacostia River waterfront. The following year, Rios became Managing Director of Investments for MacFarlane Partners, a real estate investment firm based in San Francisco.[16] 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 theDC United soccer team to register Latinos in Virginia. Many have said that this was a key tipping point necessary for the victory of then-SenatorBarack Obama 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 transition team during the2008 financial crisis.
On May 18, 2009, President Obama nominated Rios to beTreasurer of the United States and was confirmed by the Senate unanimously on July 24, 2009.[17] Rios was sworn in on August 20, 2009.[18] Her signature was initially taken on her first day of the job (August 6),[19] and first appeared on US paper currency the day after Thanksgiving 2009. Rios was also a part of the team that implemented theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act with an emphasis on theBuild America Bonds (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.[20] Rios was the Chief Executive Officer of theBureau of Engraving and Printing and theUnited States Mint. She oversaw all currency and coin production activities. Rios was the first Treasurer to have her portfolio which also included the Chair of the AdvancedCounterfeiting 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.[21]
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 SecretaryTim Geithner went so well, she told CNN afterwards, that she left the room convinced the cause was sailing forward.[22] Rios stepped down as Treasurer; her last day in office was July 11, 2016.[23] Rios was the longest serving Senate-confirmed Treasury official beginning with her time on the Treasury/Federal Reserve Transition Team in November 2008 during the2008 financial crisis.[21]
After the end of her tenure at Treasury, Rios launched an organization called Empowerment 2020 at theRadcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, where she was working as a visiting scholar.[24] In November 2020, Rios was named a volunteer member of theJoe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to theUnited States Department of Treasury.[25] In May 2021, Rios joined the board of directors atRipple Labs.[26] That year she also joined the cast of judges/investors on the streaming seriesUnicorn 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 includeLance Bass andSteve Wozniak.[27]
On January 11, 2018, Rios was named a commissioner of theUnited States Semiquincentennial Commission. She was appointed chair of the commission by PresidentJoe Biden in July 2022, succeeding Dan DiLella.[28]
Upon her resignation in 2016, Rios received the Hamilton Award, the highest honor bestowed in the U.S. Department of the Treasury.[29] In April 2015, a portrait of Rios was unveiled atWinthrop House atHarvard University, where she lived as an undergraduate—the first portrait of a Hispanic female to hang on a wall in Harvard College.[30] Rios was inducted into theMaryland Women's Hall of Fame in 2019.[29] In 2020 she was named among Maryland's "Women of the Century" byUSAToday.[31]
On June 25, 2025, she was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation by President GeneralPamela Rouse Wright of theDaughters of the American Revolution for her service on the Semiquincentennial Commission.[2]
Rios has two children, Joey and Brooke.[32]
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