Rosachely Rivera

Rosachely Rivera Santana is a Puerto Rican politician and professor who has served as the Secretary of State of Puerto Rico since 2025. Prior to her tenure as secretary of state she was the mayor of Gurabo, Puerto Rico from 2016 to 2025. She is a member of the New Progressive Party.

Early life and education Rosachely Rivera Santana was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, on April 5, 1980, to Rafael Rivera Aguayo and Marcelina Santana Fontánez. Her elementary and middle school education was done at Colegio Bautista de Gurabo and she graduated from high school at Dra. Conchita Cuevas in 1998. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus with a bachelor's degree in labor relations and a minor in psychology and a master's degree in industrial-organization psychology from Albizu University.

Career In 2013, Rivera became a professor at the University of Turabo and taught psychology courses.

Politics In May 2025, Governor Jenniffer González-Colón announced her intention to nominate Rivera to the position of Secretary of State of Puerto Rico. After the failed nominations of Verónica Ferraiuoli and Arthur Garffer, the governor nominated Rivera to head the Department of State.

On June 9, 2025, the Senate confirmed her nomination as Secretary of State alongside Lourdes Gómez Torres as Secretary of Justice and María Del Pilar Vélez Casanova as Secretary of Labor and Human Resources. Rivera’s nomination was confirmed by the House on June 30, 2025. She was sworn in by Governor González-Colón on July 3, 2025.