Ramona E. Romero

Ramona Emilia Romero joined Princeton University as General Counsel in December 2014. In that role, she provides legal counsel to the University’s President and other senior academic and administrative officers; advises on the legal implications of University policy and decision-making; and manages the team of lawyers and administrative professionals who serve in the Office of the General Counsel. She joined the University after nearly four years as General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a role to which she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in December 2010. As the USDA’s Chief Legal Officer, she oversaw the work of over 300 legal and ethics professionals. Before joining the Obama Administration, Ramona worked at E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) in a variety of legal roles. She spent the first decade of her career as a commercial, white collar and government contracts litigator at Crowell & Moring LLP in Washington, DC.  Throughout her career, Romero has been a volunteer leader in many professional and community organizations. Currently, she serves on the Board of Trustees of the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey. Her prior volunteer service includes the boards of The Justice at Stake Campaign, the American Red Cross of the Delmarva Peninsula, and the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, as well as the Advisory Committee of The O’Connor Judicial Selection Initiative at the University of Denver. She is a former National President of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA). During her term as president of the HNBA (2008-2009), Romero founded the Latina Commission and the highly successful Hispanic Appointments Project, which advocated for and supported President Obama’s appointment of Hispanic lawyers to all levels of the Federal judiciary and Executive Branch. Her leadership and contributions have resulted in numerous awards and recognitions, including The Hon. Sylvia H. Rambo Award from Dickinson Law School, the Lucero (“guiding star”) Award from Latino Justice PRLDEF, and twice being identified by Hispanic Business Magazine as one of the 100 most influential Hispanics in the United States.      Ramona, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, holds a B.A. from Barnard College and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.  She, her husband and their two daughters live in Princeton.