Ponce Bank, the community banking institution founded in 1960 with branches located throughout Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx and Union City, New Jersey, has named Riverdale resident Rose E. Rodriguez to the position of vice president, director of Government Affairs.
The announcement was made by Carlos P. Naudon, president and CEO of Ponce Bank.
“Our appointment of Ms. Rodriguez, is an important one at a pivotal time in our Bank’s history,” Naudon said. “As a true community Bank serving a diverse population in the New York Metropolitan area, we rely heavily on our outreach to elected officials and to governmental institutions at local, state and federal levels. Ms. Rodriguez is uniquely qualified to serve in this capacity, and we look forward to her elevating the role and enhancing Ponce Bank’s status among governmental institutions now, and into the future.”
In her new role as director of Government Affairs, Rodriguez will be responsible for government relations activities that advance the bank’s overall mission.
“It’s a privilege for me to join Ponce Bank, which enjoys such deep roots in the New York community and is so ardently committed to supporting the diverse populations within its market areas,” Rodriguez said. “I very much look forward to promoting Ponce among elected and appointed government officials at all levels, and to enhancing the Bank’s role in providing much-needed banking and financial services and support in underserved populations, but not un-deserving populations. I’m honored to assume this role, and am grateful for the opportunity to help promote Ponce and its mission in the days ahead.”
Rodriguez has a long and distinguished career in government and public service. She is the former chief diversity officer for the New York State Governor’s Office, a gubernatorial appointment where she was responsible for the creation and implementation of recruitment and retention initiatives designed to promote workforce diversity and inclusion, while also working to advance the Governor’s Minority & Women Owned Business (MWBE) initiatives. She co-created and led the efforts of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Diversity in the New York State Government Workforce.
Prior to her work directly for the governor’s office, Rodriguez served as senior assistant/chief of staff to the New York State Commissioner of Labor, representing the governor’s office, in the operational management and reorganization of a $9.2 billion agency with approximately 4,000 employees. Leading the coordination of several agency initiatives, she is best known for spearheading the NY Bronx Works Partnership, a model for the Governor’s Strike-Force Initiative to combat unemployment in hardest hit communities.
Later, as a White House presidential appointee by President Clinton to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, she served as deputy director for the Offices of Policy, Strategic Planning and Environmental Review in the Department of Community Planning and Development. Her responsibilities included ensuring that these offices executed White House priorities and policy initiatives with a focus on re-evaluating and re-thinking how programs are administered and funding is awarded and distributed.
She was later appointed by U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as senior advisor and director of Constituent Services where she established and managed the constituent services operation, recognized as one of the best in the country.
Rodriguez received her B.S. from Fordham University and her J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. She resides in the Riverdale section of the Bronx.
