Rose Roach joined the Minnesota Nurses Association as executive director in October 2014, after 25 years advocating for the labor movement and healthcare in Minnesota and California.
Rose came to MNA from the California School Employees Association, where she was a field director.
In California, Rose was the co-chairperson of Single Payer San Joaquin and served as the San Joaquin Regional Coordinator for the Campaign for a Healthy California, which advocates for healthcare as a human right. Her organization fought for a ballot initiative to establish a single-payer healthcare system in California.
Rose started her professional career at the Minnesota School Employees Association in St. Paul as an administrative assistant, organizer, labor representative, and executive director for 13 years.
She attended Metro State University in St. Paul and Inver Hills Community College in Inver Grove Heights.
Rose grew up in a union family and neighborhood in St. Paul, where her father was a proud union brewer for Schmidt Brewery.