Wednesday, Oct 21, 2009
Wanda Jones Rogers ’79 recently became the deputy commissioner of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Management Service (FMS) bureau, making her the first African-American and just the second woman to hold this position. FMS manages the U.S. government’s finances by operating as the financial manager and principal fiscal agent for the federal government.
Since May 2004, Rogers has been a member of the senior executive service. Prior to her recent appointment, Rogers completed a temporary assignment in which she served as the senior policy advisor to the Treasury’s Fiscal Assistant Secretary and as the Treasury’s Implementation Official for the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.
Rogers, who has held a number of executive positions both within the bureau and at the Treasury’s Departmental Offices during her 29-year career with the Department, said she often reflects upon her undergraduate experience at Rider as a Business Education major.
“When I made the transition into the federal workplace, I started as a secretary. Because I was a business education major, I was trained to teach secretarial and clerical staff. When I came into the government, I typed very fast and I was able to take shorthand,” said Rogers, who briefly taught after graduating from Rider. “A degree from Rider adds a certain level of prestige in that it’s well known for a quality education.”
A native of Pleasantville, N.J., Rogers was encouraged by her high-school guidance counselor, Robert Strickler ’63, and her accounting teacher, Myra Gaynor ’57, to apply.
“My four years at Rider actually changed my life because it afforded me opportunities I never would have had,” said Rogers, who also holds a Master of General Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management and Organizational Development from the University of Maryland, University College.
As an undergraduate, Rogers was a member of the New Jersey Business Education Association, sang with the gospel choir, served as the vice president of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity sweetheart club.
She also had her own sweetheart – she met her husband, Terry Rogers ’79, at Rider. “One of my best memories was our first date. He actually took me up to New York City to see Superman. It was in January 1979,” Wanda Rogers remembered. “My husband and I share the same philosophy about education and what Rider did for us.”