Rocio is the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, taking up the post in April 2022. Rocio was born in Chile, arriving in Wales as a 1 year old with her parents as political refugees from Chile. Growing up in Swansea, she went to Parklands Primary, Olchfa School and Gower College. She went on to attend Cambridge University, where she read Social and Political Science before doing a Masters in Social Research Methods in Swansea University.
Prior to becoming the Commissioner, Rocio was Chief Executive of EYST Wales, a Wales-wide organisation supporting ethnic minority young people, which she led and developed from its inception in 2005. She also served as Wales Committee Member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), as Chair of the Welsh Refugee Coalition, and as a board member of WCVA and CWVYS. She also previously worked for CEMVO (Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations), SYSHP (Swansea Young Single Homelessness Project), Gower College and Swansea University. She is also the founder of the charity Mixtup supporting young people with disabilities.
Rocio has won several awards for her work including a Special Recognition award from Muslim Council of Wales, Social and Humanitarian Achievement Award in the Ethnic Minority Welsh Women Awards and an Honorary Life Fellowship from the Institute of Welsh Affairs. In May 2022, she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, in recognition of her services to the community in Wales.