Rocío Aranda-Alvarado is part of the Creativity and Free Expression team. She joined Ford [Foundation] in 2018 after serving as curator at El Museo del Barrio for nearly a decade. In that role, she presented visual arts and programming that reflected the history and culture of El Barrio as well as the greater Latinx and Latin American diaspora. Prior to that, from 2000 to 2009, she was the curator at the Jersey City Museum.

Concurrent to her work in museums, Rocío taught as an adjunct professor; consulted and curated independently on Latinx and Latin American art and culture; and published and advised, in both a scholarly and curatorial capacity, at the Smithsonian Institution.

She earned her PhD in art history from the City University of New York’s Graduate Center.