Rosa Tavares

**Rosa Valentina Tavares** (born August 23, 1970) is an American politician serving as the junior U.S. Senator from Rhode Island since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as a member of the Rhode Island Senate, representing the 27th district, from 2013 to 2017.

Tavares was born in Cranston, Rhode Island to a Portuguese-American family. She graduated from La Salle Academy in 1988, and went on to attend Brown University. After graduating from Brown with a degree in political science in 1992, Tavares began working as an aide at the office of the Mayor of Providence. She continued working there for several years, and became chief of staff to Roger Palermo after his election as Mayor in 2006. After Palermo's election as Governor of Rhode Island in 2010, Tavares continued as his chief of staff. Tavares left her position as chief of staff in 2013, in order to begin a political career of her own.

Tavares began her political career in 2012, after launching her candidacy for the Rhode Island Senate, representing the 27th district. She went on to win the Democratic nomination and later the general election. Tavares won reelection to a second term in 2014. In 2016, she launched her campaign for United States Senate to succeed the retiring Martin Petsch. Tavares secured the Democratic nomination and later easily won the general election. She was sworn in as a U.S. Senator on January 3, 2017.

## Early life and family

Tavares was born on August 23, 1970 in Cranston, Rhode Island to parents Fabio (born 1943) and Filipa Tavares (née *Goncalves*; born 1945). Both of her parents are Portuguese-Americans; her paternal grandparents came to Rhode Island from Lisbon, Portugal in 1942, while her maternal great-grandparents came to Rhode Island from Faro, Portugal in the 1910s. Tavares grew up in a devoutly Catholic family. As a child, Tavares could not speak the Portuguese language fluently, but could understand it perfectly; she later learned to speak it fluently as an adult. Growing up, the family was middle-class and ran a local restaurant in Cranston serving Portuguese cuisine; Tavares spent her school breaks working at the restaurant full-time. She is the elder of two children; her younger brother is Luis, born  (1973-04-17) April 17, 1973 (age 50).

## Education and early career

Tavares attended both public and private schooling growing up. She began her education in 1975, attending a local public school in Cranston. In 1981, Tavares transferred to La Salle Academy, an independent coeducational 6–12 Catholic school in nearby Providence, Rhode Island. She began high school at La Salle in 1984. While in high school, Tavares was an honors student who also captained her varsity soccer team. In 1987, she was named one of the top girls soccer players in the state of Rhode Island. Tavares graduated from high school in 1988.

After finishing high school, Tavares enrolled in Brown University. While at Brown, she joined the Kappa Alpha Theta (ΚΑΘ) sorority, serving as president in her senior year. She graduated with a degree in political science in 1992. While in college, Tavares interned in the office of the Mayor of Providence, and later accepted a full-time position after graduating. Following the election of Roger Palermo as Mayor in 2006, Tavares was chosen as his chief of staff. Palermo was later elected Governor of Rhode Island in 2010; Tavares served as his campaign manager and later continued in her position as his chief of staff. Tavares left her job as a political staffer in 2012, in order to begin a political career of her own.

## Political positions

*Main article: Political positions of Rosa Tavares.*

## Personal life

Tavares began dating attorney Samuel Schaeffer in 1999. They later became engaged in 2001, and married in 2003. Tavares and Schaeffer have two children together: Gwen, born  (2004-01-10) January 10, 2004 (age 20), and Fabian, born  (2005-05-20) May 20, 2005 (age 18). Tavares is Catholic, while Schaeffer is Jewish; they are raising their children between both religions. The family resides in Cranston, Rhode Island, and also owns a three-bedroom townhouse in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Tavares holds dual citizenship to the United States and Portugal; she was born an American citizen, and filed for a Portuguese passport as an adult in 1993 – she was eligible for citizenship through her paternal grandparents. Growing up, Tavares frequently spent school breaks in Lisbon, Portugal. In 1995, she spent the year living with her great-aunt in Lisbon and working for a non-profit organization.