Rosa is a former U.S. government policy leader, career diplomat, and trade negotiator with a distinguished record of shaping trade, investment flows, and economic partnerships between the United States and Africa.
She served as the first-ever Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, where she is credited for elevating Africa’s role in U.S. economic and trade policy during a defining period of global market integration.
As a principal architect of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Whitaker helped design the landmark U.S.– Africa trade framework enacted in 2000. AGOA has since catalyzed billions in duty-free exports, expanded industrial capacity across African economies, and supported job creation and cross-border investment — laying important foundations for today’s accelerating digital and financial transformation across the continent.
Founded in 2003 and operating in Northern Virginia, Accra, and Dubai, The Whitaker Group is a corporate strategy and investment mobilization firm supporting global corporations and institutional investors expand in African markets. Under Whitaker’s leadership, TWG has expanded beyond advisory services into direct investment and equity partnerships, with a growing portfolio in fintech, digital infrastructure, and media — positioning her at the intersection of policy, capital, and Africa’s rapidly scaling digital economy. Her work increasingly centers on enabling Africa’s payments ecosystem, including mobile money, digital banking, and cross-border payment infrastructure driving financial inclusion and market access.
Whitaker serves on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Afreximbank’s Fund for Export Development in Africa, and the WTO Business Advisory Board. She is a former President and 13-year member of the Executive Board of Mercy Ships and has been recognized among Foreign Policy magazine’s Top 100 Global Thinkers and as a recipient of the Women in International Trade Business Legacy Award. A frequent global commentator on Africa’s economic transformation, she is widely regarded as a leading voice on trade, investment, and economic trends.
A native of Washington, D.C., Whitaker holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The American University and completed further studies in Europe and at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute.