Otis Rolley is the Senior Vice President, U.S. Equity and Economic Opportunity Initiative (US EEO) at The Rockefeller Foundation. Otis leads The Rockefeller Foundation’s 2030 sustainability development goal of decent work and economic growth, SDG Goal 8, within the United States. Recognizing low wage workers as essential, even prior to COVID-19, Otis is directing all U.S. work focused on enhancing the ability of every working person to meet the basic financial needs of their family and have a path to a better future. With a focus on equity, Otis provides stewardship for U.S. grant making and investing that it is aligned to strategic levers to fill key US economic opportunity gaps in tax and budget policy design and implementation; access to capital and asset ownership; and worker coalition-building and advocacy.

Immediately prior to joining the Foundation in 2019, Otis served as a North America Managing Director for 100 Resilient Cities, a major project sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation. There he provided urban resilience (economic, environmental sustainability & community development) technical assistance and portfolio management for 29 cities throughout the U.S. and Canada. He also served as Managing Director for the Africa portfolio of 10 cities for over a year. In that capacity he facilitated the development of 15 Urban Resilience Strategies, resulting in $450 million in leverage investments. Prior to his work at 100 Resilient Cities, Otis served as President and CEO of the economic development corporation of New Jersey’s largest city.

A true urbanist, Otis’s career has been dedicated to advancing equity, economic and community development in cities, and leading organizations in the for-profit, public, and non-profit sectors. His 20+ years of experience also includes serving in various leadership positions. He managed the strategic planning and urban development unit of a national management consulting firm. He has held cabinet roles with five different mayors in three large U.S. cities. He has been a chief of staff, managing a $2 billion budget; city planning director for America’s largest independent city; and he has served as the first deputy housing commissioner for the 5th largest public housing and community development agency in the United States.

Based in our Washington DC Office, Otis is the father of three children and resides in Maryland. He has a Master’s in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Rutgers University.