Rose Pierre-Louis

Rosemonde Pierre-Louis is chairperson and co-founder of The Haitian Roundtable. Currently, Ms. Pierre-Louis serves as the Senior Adviser to the New York City Commission on Gender Equity, which focuses on strategies for achieving economic stability and social inclusion for all New Yorkers.

Previously she was appointed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and served  as the Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence (OCDV). OCDV oversees the citywide delivery of domestic violence services, develops policies and programs, and works with diverse communities to increase awareness of domestic violence. OCDV works alongside City agencies, community based and advocacy organizations, local leaders, and service providers to expand access to services citywide for victims and their children to receive the help that they need.

From 2006 to 2013, Ms. Pierre-Louis served as Manhattan Deputy Borough President and was responsible for overseeing several of the office’s key initiatives on transportation, domestic violence, food justice and security, sustainability, the environment, criminal justice and the unprecedented reform of Manhattan’s 12 Community Boards. She was the architect of Borough President Scott Stringer’s Go Green sustainability initiatives in East Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood and the Lower East Side.

Prior to becoming Deputy Borough President, Ms. Pierre-Louis served in leadership positions at several public interest and legal services organizations such as Harlem Legal Services, Network for Women’s Services, The Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services at Sanctuary for Families and Queens Legal Services. Ms. Pierre-Louis spent 20 years as public interest and legal services attorney representing low-income and working-poor litigants as well as survivors of domestic violence. She also served for six years as an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law. Ms. Pierre-Louis has been widely recognized as an advocate, educator, and attorney for women’s and immigrant’s rights, underserved communities and survivors of domestic violence.

In 2004, Ms. Pierre-Louis was appointed by then Chief Justice Judith Kaye to serve on the Matrimonial Commission, which was responsible for reviewing all aspects of matrimonial litigation and making recommendations for improving how the State’s Family and Supreme Courts handle such litigation.

Ms. Pierre-Louis is a founding member and former Chair of the African American Task Force on Violence against Women and a former Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the New York Women’s Foundation. In 2009 Ms. Pierre-Louis Co-founded and currently serves as Chair of the Haitian Roundtable, an organization comprised of Haitian-American professionals committed to civic engagement as well as philanthropic endeavors benefiting Haiti, Haitian organizations and causes.

In 2010 following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Ms. Pierre-Louis was appointed by then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to serve on the five-member delegation representing the United States at the United Nations Haiti Donor Pre-Conference in Martinique, West Indies. Ms. Pierre-Louis has been a leading voice, advocate and mobilizing force on issues impacting the Haitian community.

Ms. Pierre-Louis completed her undergraduate studies in political science at Tufts University, and earned a law degree at Case Western University School of Law. She is the recipient of numerous awards which include the Women United in Philanthropy Award from the United Way of New York City and the Women’s Leadership Award from the Mid-Manhattan NAACP.

In 2010 Ms. Pierre-Louis was presented the Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations Foundation for her work and advocacy for Haiti and its Diaspora. In 2013, Ms. Pierre-Louis was one of the first recipients of the YWCA NYC Community Leadership Award and 2014 received the McSilver Award from NYU’s Silver School of Social Work which individuals working to address the needs of children and families living in poverty. In 2015, Ms.  Pierre-Louis received the Above and Beyond Award from Sanctuary for Families.