“Racial and social justice is our number one priority across the board,” Rosario said in a press release announcing his appointment. “As the go-to organization for the Latinx community serving Black and brown residents, we must take diversity and inclusion to the next level. We’re trying to create an ecosystem of care for our community—focusing on wealth building, not just social services.”
A New York City native, Rosario grew up in the South Bronx and began volunteering in the Boy Scouts of America’s Scoutreach program while majoring in communications at Fordham College at Rose Hill. Since graduating in 1995, he has held leadership positions at several regional YMCAs and the Boy Scouts of America’s Greater New York Councils. Most recently, he was president and CEO of the Ocean County YMCA in Toms River, New Jersey, where he established a summer meals program that served 700 to 900 meals a day to community members experiencing food insecurity. He also served two terms as president of the Passaic (New Jersey) Board of Education.
La Casa de Don Pedro was formed in 1972 by Newark residents of Puerto Rican descent and is named in honor of Puerto Rican nationalist Don Pedro Albizu Campos. According to the organization’s website, its mission is “to foster self-sufficiency, empowerment and neighborhood revitalization through advocacy, education, and support,” and it aims “to reverse the trajectory of social, racial, political, and economic dislocations and marginalization of children and families.” Its youth, health services, and workforce development programs reach approximately 50,000 people per year.
