Ross Rocketto

I am a social and political entrepreneur with a passion for organizing. My most recent venture, Running to Govern, seeks to recruit, train, support, and hold accountable a new generation of elected leaders who are committed to effective, responsible, governance. Effective and responsible governance is rooted in long term planning and consists of intellectually honest debate, and good-faith negotiation. There is nothing wrong with partisanship, ideology, or politics; however it is problematic when these things turn governing and legislating into a zero-sum game.

Currently, I am working on my Masters degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University's DC. Prior to going back to school I worked for a public television station in St. Louis on an initiative called Facing the Mortgage Crisis, which leveraged the power of public media to connect community members to foreclosure prevention resources. The initiative was scaled to over 30 public television markets across the country.

During my first year in to St. Louis I participated in the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affiars. Coro is a nine-month, post-graduate, leadership development program in public affairs where we worked in a series of month-long consultancies in different sectors of public affairs including business, government, and nonprofit.

In my past life I was a political operative working for candidates in Houston, San Antonio, and for a presidential campaign in Iowa. In my free time I enjoy watching sports, hiking, and travel.