More people should know the name Rosie Rios.
Rosa “Rosie” Rios, who served as the U.S. Treasurer for seven years, most recently served as chair of the nonpartisan U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which was charged with putting together events around this past weekend’s momentous July 4 occasion, America’s 250th birthday.
I was paying attention, highlighting the role of Boston in the American Revolution, and I got to interview Rios, whose name is on around $1.8 trillion of the estimated $2.2 trillion U.S. dollars in circulation, a few days ago, about where America stands, and where we are headed.
I wanted to share some of this with you. Rios is inspirational, in her efforts to set up programs that showcase American pride and passion for improvement.
The Last Anniversary
I asked Rios about the 1976 bicentennial, and it brought up some of her past feelings as a child.
“We absolutely drew upon what happened way back when, even in 1776,” she said of the commission’s work. “I remember the bicentennial of 1976: I was almost 11 years old, growing up in the Bay Area, and it was a very, very grand time. I felt, more than anything, hopeful, I felt very, very hopeful. I felt extremely patriotic.”
Rios explained that after her parents came from Mexico to Hayward, California in 1958, her father, who worked at the Hunts Tomato Factory, eventually returned to his country of origin. She and her mother stayed, and eventually, Rios went on to become an influential part of both government and academia, for example, as Harvard’s student representative in 1986 for the school’s 350th anniversary.
This Moment
I asked Rios about what people will think of this 250th year, years from now.
“Hopefully, my kids will remember this,” she said. “I’m sure they will; all of our kids will remember what this time was like.”
She mentioned how it felt 50 years ago, when America was coming out of the Vietnam war, and Watergate, and so much else.
“I would like to think that 50 years from now, that our democracy will still be in place, and as strong as ever, that our three branches of government will work together exactly as our founding fathers envisioned,” she said. “I know that America will always be great, it always has been great, and I think that we have survived many things in the past, and I think 50 years from now we’re just going to be as strong as ever.”
Innovation and Progress
“I want as many Americans as possible to feel like this is a land of opportunity all over again, exactly how I felt when I was almost 11 years old in 1976,” Rios said. “I want people to feel a love of country, and really embrace what our founding fathers envisioned, which is you can still love your country, and want it to be more perfect.”
I thought that was well said: that pride can go along with clear-eyed ambition to fix things that are in some way ripe for improvement.
The Youth of the Nation
“I would say, you know, for America 250, it is as much about the future as it is the past,” Rios said, “and many of our programs, values-based programs, are focused on this next generation, and specific to innovation.”
She mentioned her involvement in America’s Startup, which she characterized as a kind of ‘Shark Tank for college kids,’ and a venue for allowing young career professionals to spread their wings, even at the beginning of their journeys.
“When you think about these university competitions, the focus is usually on graduate students,” she said. “That’s where the patents are, the research, that’s where the work experience is, and so we specifically only focused on undergrads and accredited colleges, universities, and trades. We included the trades, and the response was overwhelming.”
Many of the projects, she noted, were AI-native.
“The ideas that they came up with were brilliant,” she said. “Brilliant, brilliant students. I am very, very hopeful for the future with that level of ideation, that level of innovation, that level of hope, that not only do they feel something, they’re actually doing something.”
This event, Rios said, will happen again.
“We’re actually doing it again in the fall, going bigger and better,” she added.
July Fourth This Year
This July fourth, Rios is traveling from New York to Los Angeles, and observing a program including no less than eight different ball drops, representing the eight time zones in which American territories lie.
“We already are a nation of nations,” she said, “and this is kind of a great way to appreciate who we are as a country, and really think about the responsibility that we have in this global platform.”
She also mentioned how stakeholders are working to make the fourth of July a “giving fourth,” supporting nonprofits in social goals.
“We’re using the semiquincentennial as a moment to create a movement to move that needle to midway through the year, in July, to give early, and give often,” she said, “and empower nonprofits to do what they do best: they feed the hungry, they house the unhoused, and so we’re making this a new tradition, and this July 4 is kind of like the baseline … we’re bringing it to the East Coast, and Boston.”
I thought all of this was quite inspirational. With the July 4 weekend at our backs, we shouldn’t stop trying to move the ball forward. AI will bring us great opportunities, but, in reality, great challenges, too, and we have to do our best, to create a brighter future. Stay tuned.
