Raysa S. Rodriguez is a lifelong advocate with a strong track record championing reforms in education, housing, child welfare and economic justice. She joined CCC as its Executive Director in March 2025 with more than two decades of experience advancing equity for children, families, and communities including expanding access to universal Pre-K for low-income preschoolers, increasing the value of housing subsidies for families to expand the availability of affordable and permanent housing, raising the lower age of juvenile delinquency with state legislation that ends the arrest and prosecution of children under 12 and elevating the need for continued progress in youth justice reforms, advocating for salary parity for the early childhood workforce, and advancing more accurate measures of economic need to inform policymaking.

Raysa assumed the top leadership position at CCC, building on her early experience as a graduate intern at CCC, and later serving as the organization’s Associate Executive Director for Policy and Advocacy. She also brings leadership experience as FPWA’s Chief Program and Policy Officer, where she oversaw policy advocacy efforts and the delivery of nonprofit supports while growing the organization’s focus on fiscal policy research, capacity building centered on people-centered and trauma-informed approaches, and impact evaluation.

As Vice President of Policy and Planning at WIN, NYC’s largest provider of family shelter and supportive housing, Raysa led efforts to improve outcomes for families experiencing housing insecurity through program performance metrics, staff training on evidence-based practices, grants management, and policy advocacy towards systems change. As United Way of New York City’s Associate Vice President for Education, she spearheaded programmatic and policy initiatives that spanned from early childhood through K-12. And, as a Senior Advisor on Children’s Issues for the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services during Mayor Bloomberg’s administration, Raysa supported strategies aimed at reducing poverty and strengthening early care and education.

Throughout her career, Raysa has focused on evidence-based solutions to advance the well-being of New York’s children. A proud product of NYC’s public school system, Raysa was born and raised in the Bronx, where she served as a public school Kindergarten teacher early in her career. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Development from Cornell University and a Master of Science from Columbia University School of Social Work, where she is an Adjunct Professor. Raysa is a photography, basketball, and running enthusiast and resides in Queens, NY with her husband and two children.