Last year, Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs alumna Rosie Cordero-Stutz, MPA 2001, made history when voters elected her as Miami-Dade County’s first sheriff in six decades, the first woman elected sheriff in the county and the state’s first Hispanic woman elected to the post – the pinnacle of her lifelong dream of working in law enforcement.
The journey of Sheriff Rosie, as many know her in the community has been marked by persistence and drive, ranging from her Dominican roots to her early years in New York City and eventual move to South Florida.
“I’m proud to lead the Miami-Dade County Office of the Sheriff, as we are the seventh-largest county in the U.S. and the largest in the southeastern U.S,” she said. “I worked my way up through the ranks, from police officer to assistant director of investigative services,” said Cordero-Stutz.
It all started many years ago; her family recalls that when she was 5 she started saying she wanted to be a police officer. Pursuing her dream in earnest began when she studied for her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, graduating from Marist College in 1991. A few years later she would be southward bound.
“During the early 1990s, it was difficult to get a job in New York-based police departments due to waiting lists,” she recalled. “My father was already living in South Florida, and I was familiar with the city after spending summers during my high school years visiting and spending time on the beach.
After relocating to South Florida, Cordero-Stutz worked in retail sales, as she had done in New York, and finally applied to join the Miami-Dade Police Department. It took two years for her to be accepted into the Police Academy in 1996. Nine months after graduating, she was sworn in and began working as a patrol officer. As a member of the department, she has continually served the community in a variety of assignments, gaining experience in police operations, investigations, supervision, management and administration. She was the department’s assistant director before assuming her current post.
Cordero-Stutz is proud to have always embraced lifelong learning, deciding to go back to school and choosing FIU, to pursue her master’s degree in public administration.
“It was at the start of the era of online education courses becoming more popular, but I preferred going to class,” she explained. “I enrolled in classes at the FIU Biscayne Bay Campus held after working hours and would change out of my police uniform before class. I love learning from others and engaging in a great classroom debate. My classes exposed me to so many students and people from all walks in life.
Sheriff Rosie urges FIU’s criminal justice students to consider a future with the Miami-Dade County Police Department; graduates can apply for a role that offers a lifelong career path while aligning with personal interests.
Reflecting on her own personal journey and satisfying career, she said, ““I urge people to apply to the Office of Sheriff all the time, because I’ve always believed if you love what you do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”