Rosanna Torres Pizarro is the Director of the Center for a New Economy’s office in Washington, D.C. Rosanna returns to CNE after serving as the first Senior Advisor to the Secretary on Puerto Rico at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In this role, she underscored and helped the agency address various issues impacting Puerto Rico, including language access limitations, disparate addressing standards, exclusion in critical data surveys and programs, and more. Importantly, her work fostered ongoing engagement with Puerto Rico, monitoring expenditures of billions of funding for disaster recovery, and providing a space for residents, small businesses, and community-based organizations to voice concerns.
During her first years at CNE, Rosanna effectively influenced Congress and the Executive to address Puerto Rico’s challenges, leading to substantial changes in federal law. Notably, she played a key role in the permanent authorization of a federal supplement to the local Earned Income Tax Credit, a policy studied by CNE since 2003, which promotes work and alleviates poverty. Among the other policy wins, the DC office was also successful in carrying through a generous Medicaid funding package in 2019. Her return signifies a renewed commitment to spreading deep knowledge and serious research across the federal government to help Puerto Rico thrive.
With a career dedicated to public service, Rosanna has held various roles within the federal government, including as Legislative Director for Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez, Professional Staff Member in the House Small Business Committee, Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and other roles at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the U.S Census Bureau, and the Office of Personnel Management.
Rosanna holds a master’s degree in International Commerce and Public Policy from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in Business Statistics from the University of Puerto Rico.
 Publications by Rosanna Torres