Carlos Mariani Rosa

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Carlos Mariani Rosa is a distinguished leader in the nonprofit and public sector. Under his tenure, Minnesota Education Equity Partnership has increasingly strengthened its voice as a statewide authority on educational race equity in Minnesota through research on student academic outcomes and social realities, publishing policy briefs, and convening multi-cultural advocacy networks for shifting education policies and practices.

Carlos was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1990, representing St. Paul district 65B. He is a member of the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) and has focused his efforts on issues affecting marginalized communities in areas as diverse as; education, economic development, and criminal justice reform. He served as Chair of the E-12 Education Policy Committee authoring and guiding several major race equity bills signed into law such as the; MN Prosperity (DREAM) Act for Undocumented students, the nation-leading Learning English for Academic Proficiency and Success Act (LEAPS) advancing an assets-based approach in promoting home languages as a vital element for overall academic achievement for emerging multi-linguals, and the Achievement and Integration in MN Act (AIM) re-establishing Minnesota’s school racial integration revenue program to combine accountability for academic outcomes with racial integration efforts.

Carlos also served as the Chair of the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Committee where, in response to the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, he organized, authored and passed into law the 2020 MN Police Accountability Act which reformed the use of deadly force by law enforcement and restructured the state police licensing board to proactively prevent, identify and discipline officers engaged in police brutality. His committee also oversaw major reforms in; advancing “second chance” opportunities for those convicted of crimes to better their lives, creating a prison and jail safety regulatory process in response to deaths occurring in facilities across our state, passed the nation’s first elimination of requiring Indian Tribal police to be certified only with the permission of local Sheriffs and – in response to huge disparities in unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women – created an independent investigative office led by Indian American women to focus on solving these crimes. Addressing racial disparities were at the heart of all this work.

Carlos is a member of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials and the National Conference of Hispanic State Legislators.

Carlos is well-recognized for his leadership. Throughout his legislative career he has been honored by a diversity of groups including the Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action, the Jobs Now Coalition, the MN School Boards Association, Literacy Minnesota, National TRIO Association, MN Mesa Latina, MN Immigration Law Center, Sierra Club, and many others for outstanding advocacy as a legislator. The MN Democratic Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) conferred the prestigious Joan Growe Award for Distinguished Commitment to Expanding Access to Democracy and Justice in Minnesota.

A 1980 graduate of Macalester College, Carlos was a Mondale Policy Fellow at the U of M Hubert H Humphrey Institute in 1991, and a U.S. Delegation Member of the American Council of Young Political Leaders exchange to Argentina and Uruguay in 1996. He is the recipient of Macalester College’s Alumni Distinguished Citizen Award. He was awarded the prestigious Bush Fellowship in 2013 and was a Studio E Fellow in 2014.