Mary Jane B. Rolen was born and raised in the Philippines. She attended St. Joseph’s College in Quezon City, Philippines, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in economics, with honors. Crediting her professional achievements to the moral principles instilled in her by her parents, she currently excels as a management and program analyst for the Center for Automation, Security, and Integrity with the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), where she has worked for more than 25 years. She started her tenure with the SSA as a claims representative in 1998 with its Outstanding Scholar Program. Ms. Rolen participated in the 2003 National Leadership Development Program and held multiple positions, including operations supervisor, labor relations specialist, and management analyst. She served as executive assistant to the Regional Commissioner and then as the team leader for the Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Office until advancing to her current role. Among other duties, Ms. Rolen is responsible for monitoring protective security officers’ presence and timeliness in field offices and leading administrative sanctions.
Growing up, Ms. Rolen’s family struggled to make ends meet. She learned that nothing comes for free and channeled her experience into an intense drive to achieve her goals and find professional success. Having overcome many challenges and obstacles throughout her life, Ms. Rolen did not give up when she was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor in 2016, forcing her to give up a management position with the SSA. She underwent surgery, recovered, and returned to work, a testament to her incredible resilience. In 2021 and again in 2022, she received the Performance Award for her unparalleled work with the SSA.
In addition to her work in government services, Ms. Rolen has been a prolific contributor to her community. She has been named a Top Volunteer with the Philippine Honorary Consul General’s Volunteer Corps and maintains membership with the Filipino-American Association of Greater Atlanta, the Coalition of Filipino American Chambers of Commerce, and the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia Inc. (PACCGA). In 2021, PACCGA elected her president, a role she held until December 2023. In the past, Ms. Rolen was a member of the Filipino-American Community of Western North Carolina and a board member of the Coalition of Filipino American Chambers of Commerce.
Ms. Rolen’s excellence in fulfilling her responsibilities has been a constant throughout her career. As a result, she has received numerous awards and honors, including being named to the 25 Most Influential Asian-Americans in Georgia in 2022 and 2021. In 2019 and 2011, she personally earned a Regional Commissioner Citation Award from the SSA, and in 2014, she earned the Regional Commissioner Citation Team Award. In 2011, Ms. Rolen received the Commissioner’s Citation, the SSA’s highest Honor Award. For her contributions to the Asian American and Filipino American communities, Ms. Rolen received the Empowered Women Award from the National Federation of Filipino American Associations in 2017 and the APA Making Waves Preservation Award from the Asian Pacific American Historical Society in 2013. She was also recognized with a Marquis Who’s Who Worldwide Humanitarian Award in 2024.
As a member of the Project Management Institute Inc., Ms. Rolen is certified in the Fundamentals of Agile Project Management and Generative Artificial Intelligence for Project Managers. Alongside her lengthy career with the SSA, she has worked as the chief executive officer of Lazy Bear Cabins LLC in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, since 2019, renting cabins to vacationers in the scenic region. Ms. Rolen’s podcast, “Usapang Pinoy,” landed her a feature in the Georgia Asian Times in 2021. The program is designed for the Southeast United States and Atlanta, Georgia, Filipino diaspora communities and covers a wide array of topics. Ms. Rolen’s work as the committee chair for Filipino American History Month since 2019 earned her a spot in the “Everyday Heroes” feature of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in January 2024. In her spare time, Ms. Rolen enjoys spending time with her friends as well as singing, dancing, working in her community, bowling, and watching movies.