Rossana Rosado was appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul as Acting Commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) in November 2021 and confirmed by the New York State Senate in February 2022. She is the third woman, second person of color and first Latina to lead the agency since its creation in 1972.

Commissioner Rosado’s transition to DCJS is a culmination of her personal and professional passions and presents an opportunity to deepen the impact that the agency has on the criminal justice system to ensure that it works fairly, equitably, and efficiently for all New Yorkers. Prior to her most recent appointment, Commissioner Rosado served as New York’s Secretary of State for nearly six years. As Secretary, she advanced a commitment to social justice reform, community revitalization, and re-entry. She launched the Liberty Defense Project, a public-private initiative to bring critical legal services to immigrants; led the Strategic Implementation Assessment Team, a multi-agency review of the Regional Economic Development Council competition, which informed the state’s investments; and chaired the Council on Community Re-entry and Reintegration, removing obstacles that justice-involved people face when returning home. Commissioner Rosado joined state service after more than 30 years in the media industry as an executive and award-winning producer. Most notably, she served as the first female CEO, Editor, and Publisher of El Diario La Prensa, the oldest and largest Spanish language newspaper in the country. During her career in journalism, she was motivated by the stories of society’s most vulnerable and drawn toward the people and places that our social services all too often failed to reach. Those experiences inspired her to become a champion for social and economic justice and earn a master’s degree in criminal justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Through the college, she has also served as a Distinguished Lecturer and taught courses in several of New York’s prisons. Currently, Commissioner Rosado is a member of the Board of Trustees of the John Jay College Foundation and a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. During her media career, she earned an Emmy Award, a STAR Award from the NY Women’s Agenda, and a Peabody Award for Journalism. A lifelong New Yorker, she received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Pace University. She lives in Westchester County with her husband and has two children.