Rosario Marin: filling the bill from advocate to treasurer: Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Prize winner, former mayor of Huntington Park, CA, former US Treasurer - Top Ten Latinos

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, Dec, 2003 by Charles Dews, David Everett

ROSARIO WELL RECALLS the situation when her parents decided to move from Mexico to the United States: she was 14 years old; she did not speak English; and she didn't want to miss her quinceanera (a girl's coming of age party) in Mexico.

She evidently adjusted well, because in a few years she was enrolled in California State University, Los Angeles, and working full time as a receptionist's assistant at the City National Bank. She earned her bachelor's degree and was about to be promoted to assistant vice president at the bank, when, as she put it, "God had other plans."

By then she was married to Alex Marin, and they had their first child, a son Eric, born with Down's Syndrome, a condition that led her into becoming an advocate for people with disabilities.

As an advocate, she held several posts in California: chief of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Developmental Services; chair of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities; assistant deputy director of the Department of Social Services; and deputy director of the Governor's Office of Community Relations in Los Angeles.

In 1992 her advocacy skills landed her a place in Governor Pete Wilson's administration, where she served for seven years. In 1995 at the United Nations, she received the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Prize for her work on behalf of the disabled.

After her experience in state government, Marin served as mayor and councilwoman of Huntington Park, a city of 85,000 residents who are 99 percent Hispanic. She won a seat on the city council in 1994 and was overwhelmingly re-elected in 1999. While serving the citizens of Huntington Park, she also worked for AT&T as a public relations manager for the Hispanic market in Southern California.

Her commitment to public service led her to further her education, eventually graduating from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government Programs for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. On June 15, 2002, she received an honorary Doctor of Law degree from her alma mater, California State University, Los Angeles.

On August 16, 2001, Rosario Marin was sworn in as the 41st Treasurer of the United States, making her the first naturalized citizen and the first Mexican-born person to serve in that post and the highest ranking Latina in the Bush Administration. As Treasurer, Marin's duties included oversight of the US Mint and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Also, her signature appears on all paper money (greenbacks). In addition, she spearheaded Treasury's financial education outreach efforts and the Partnership for Prosperity efforts between the United States and Mexico.

For her achievements Marin was recognized at the 2000 Latino Perspectives Conference in Sacramento and received the Excellence in Public Service Award. She also was one of two elected officials featured in the "20 Up and Coming Latinas" in the Los Angeles Business Journal, February 2000 issue. She has appeared on the cover of several magazines, including the Hispanic Business Magazine, which named her one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the nation.