Rocio Velazquez brings over 20 years of public service and childhood advocacy experience to The Lucy Project, where she serves as Chief Operations & External Affairs Officer. She previously served as a board member and Chair of The Lucy Project, bringing deep knowledge of the organization’s mission and a long-standing commitment to expanding literacy opportunities for children.

Born and raised in Guatemala, she began her career as a preschool teacher in 1996; the same year peace accords ended a nearly 40-year civil war that devastated communities, especially women and children. Inspired by the country’s rebuilding, she pursued a law degree and served in the Supreme Court of Justice, the National Office of the Registrar, and the Ministry of Education. She holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Florida International University.

During her final two years in Guatemala, Rocio served as Chief Counsel for International Affairs at the Ministry of Education, helping lead a national school system overhaul and manage initiatives supported by the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, KfW Bankengruppe, and USAID. She is particularly proud of improving public school infrastructure and implementing the multilingual reading initiative, “Leamos Juntos, Chqasik’ij Qawuj” (Let’s Read Together), which advanced literacy in a country with one of the lowest rates in the Western Hemisphere. For safety reasons, her family later relocated to the United States.

Over eight years at The Children’s Movement of Florida, she served in multiple roles, culminating as Vice President of Statewide Engagement. She contributes to statewide education and policy initiatives, including the Grade-Level Reading Campaign, and serves on local and statewide committees focused on education and health. She holds the Early Childhood Mental Health Mentor–Policy endorsement, is a Leadership Miami fellow and Early Childhood Advocacy fellow.

Rocio lives in Miami with her husband, Gleis, and their two sons, Marcos and Santiago.