Leadership

Harris Rosen was President and COO of Rosen Hotels & Resorts, a hospitality company he founded in 1974. His “little company” features an award-winning collection of seven Orlando-area hotels (three convention and four leisure) comprising 6,338 guest rooms and suites and 740,000 square feet of meeting and event space. With an unyielding, people-first focus, Rosen was a visionary leader in the hospitality, philanthropy and healthcare industries.

Rosen grew up in New York’s Lower East Side with his parents Jack and Lee and his younger brother Ron. His family’s modest apartment still stands at 18 Monroe Street between the East River, Little Italy, the Bowery and Chinatown. After attending Music & Art High School in the Bronx, Harris Rosen applied to mostly fine arts colleges and to Cornell University. He marveled at the fact that he was accepted to Cornell and graduated four years later with a degree in hospitality management.

After Cornell, in the early 1960s, Rosen served as an officer in the Army for more than three years. While stationed in Germany and South Korea, he ascended to the rank of 1^st Lieutenant before returning to the U.S. and igniting a career in hospitality.

Rosen began his career as a convention salesman at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. He continued his rise with the Hilton Hotels Corporation holding various management roles in Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cape Kennedy (FL) and Dallas. Rosen eventually took his American dream to California. One day he read in the local newspaper about Walt Disney Company’s plans for a major development in Florida, so he applied for a job with them.

Hired by Disney, Rosen moved to Orlando and worked on hotel designs. He even created its central reservation system. His Disney career was flourishing, but years later, Rosen realized if he was truly going to be happy and fulfilled, he had to consider being in business for himself.

The early 1970s was a tough time in the United States with a stock market in decline and an Arab oil embargo making gasoline scarce and costly. Hotels in Orlando struggled mightily. That opened the door for Rosen in 1974 as he took all his savings − $20,000 dollars − and agreed to purchase a small, 256-room Quality Inn snug up against I-4 at the intersection of Sand Lake Road and International Drive. There was no going back.

He did everything from cooking and cleaning to gardening and front desk. Rosen lived on property and even converted two rooms into an office and a tiny apartment with a small stove up against a wall.

Rosen remained in that same office, in what is now the Rosen Inn International, his entire career. His success allowed him to purchase a second hotel, which is now the Rosen Inn closest to Universal, and the Rosen Inn Lake Buena Vista, Rosen Plaza, and Rosen Centre. His hotel collection grew with the construction of Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando and the crown jewel, Rosen Shingle Creek.

His prosperity in the hospitality field is legendary, only matched by his success as a philanthropist and humanitarian. Now, the Rosen name stands tall on seven Orlando-area hotels, the UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management, The Rosen Aquatic & Fitness Center and multiple foundations benefitting children in underserved communities, warriors fighting cancer and people in other countries hit hard by disasters.

Desiring to give back and make a difference in Central Florida, Rosen created preschool programs in Tangelo Park (1994) and Parramore (2017) which provide free preschool to children ages 2, 3 and 4 in those underserved communities. These initiatives have been lauded for their excellence in preparing students and providing a stable learning environment from which to start their educational journey. When those students graduate high school, Rosen’s foundations provide college or vocational school scholarships covering tuition, books, room & board and other expenses.

In 2004, the UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management opened its doors after Rosen donated more than $18 million dollars, his time and resources, while working alongside then-Dean Abe Pizam. His lifetime contributions totaled more than $30 million dollars to the school, which includes a $2.5 million dollar scholarship endowment for UCF that is matched by the state of Florida. The college now ranks as the nation’s top hospitality school and one of the best in the world.

He also donated millions of dollars to develop what is now the Jack and Lee Rosen Jewish Community Center in Southwest Orlando, which serves more than 200 children from infancy to Pre-K. In 2016, Rosen donated an additional $3.7 million to build an event center to accommodate the Rosen JCC’s tremendous growth and popularity.

In 2019, Mr. Rosen donated $12 million to cancer research as a legacy to his son, Adam Michael Rosen, who died in 2018 from brain cancer at the age of 26. The Adam Michael Rosen Neuro-Oncology Laboratories houses multiple laboratories led by researchers at the University of Florida. Their work includes innovative brain tumor immunotherapy research, genetics, artificial intelligence, neuroimaging and care for the development of novel brain tumor treatments.

Mr. Rosen’s passions for swimming led him to save what is now the Rosen Aquatic & Fitness Center not once, but twice from shutting its doors. The second time, during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Harris Rosen Foundation received ownership of the facility and quickly renovated it back to a state-of-the-art swimming and fitness complex. This world-class facility now hosts swimming classes to prevent childhood drownings, is home to past and present Olympians and has been used by multiple organizations, like Special Olympics USA and the US Paralympics Swimming for competitions.

Mr. Rosen also created RosenCare. This innovative, award-winning insurance plan not only gives associates and their families comprehensive coverage, it pays for 90% of all medications, including insulin. In the process, it is estimated to have saved his privately-owned company approximately $500 million and counting since its inception. Along with RosenCare, he established the Rosen Medical Center, which offers associates and their loved ones top-notch medical care and wellness programs, on-campus and while on-the-clock.

In 2023, Mr. Rosen received an esteemed lifetime achievement award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He also received Leadership Florida’s LeRoy Collins Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022 for going above and beyond to improve the lives of all Floridians, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) Orlando Chapter Champion of Education award and the Healthcare Revolutionary award presented by the Healthcare Revolution Conference among others.

Harris Rosen passed away at his home on November 25, 2024, surrounded by family and loved ones. He was 85 years old.

Patti Jo Church-Houle has dedicated most of her adult life to helping children and their families reach their full potential.

She was born in Chicago, Illinois. At 9 years old, she moved to Port Charlotte, Florida, where her grandparents raised her. By 12, she knew that she wanted to be a teacher to help other children.

In 1980, Church-Houle began her education career, first teaching kindergarten. Over the years, she also taught first and second grade. Her first seven years were spent in Polk County, Florida. However, she spent most of her time working for Orange County Public Schools (OCPS).

She was placed at Orlando’s Tangelo Park Elementary, a move that would shape her life to this day.

By 1994, she had become a resource teacher and the supervisor of the Tangelo Park 2-Year-Old Program. Each week, she would lead the children in hands-on activities that taught crucial skills like shapes, colors, numbers, and ABCs. She also guided local families through finding free childcare and parenting classes.

In December 2015, Patti Jo Church-Houle retired from OCPS after 35 years of service.

Harris Rosen, however, asked her to stay on board as Executive Director of the Rosen Preschools. She accepted, feeling called to keep supporting the children of Tangelo Park. Among her many accomplishments was helping to design the Rosen Parramore Preschool classrooms. Her input proved invaluable in creating welcoming spaces where children could thrive.

Today, Church-Houle continues her service to children and families as the Senior Executive Director of the Rosen Preschools.

In this role, she oversees the Tangelo Park Preschool, Parramore Preschool, and the home daycares. Each day, she provides educational development and operational support to a devoted team of teachers. Staff and directors alike view Church-Houle as a mentor. They know she’s always glad to share insights from her decades of experience.

Church-Houle truly believes in early childhood education. She says the field has let her achieve her lifelong dream of helping young people.

She has seen firsthand that when you shape a child’s mind today, they will succeed tomorrow. She has had the honor of watching many children grow from toddlers eager to learn into successful adults. Former students have even stopped her on the street to thank her. Years later, they remember not only her name and face but also the work ethic and love of learning she instilled in them.

As for her hopes for the future, she prays that the “program will continue to grow and will always provide quality early learning experiences that prime students for success.”

Jennifer’s long career in education is driven by her desire to provide students with the tools they need to succeed in life. Her commitment to their success is grounded in a belief that everyone should be afforded a safe, loving place to learn. As executive director, her goal for the Rosen Preschool is to serve as the proactive link that prepares children for public school and beyond, as well as help teachers and staff grow professionally.

Jennifer has known since high school that she wanted to work with children. She loves being around them, learning their perspectives on the world, and finding the best ways to guide them individually so they can reach their fullest potential.

Her first role in early childhood education was as a part-time floater at a childcare center. Heeding the call to her career, Jennifer completed an internship with the U.S. Navy in San Diego at a childcare facility and obtained a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University. After graduation, Jennifer worked in the Michigan public school system. She also taught college students and preschoolers at a local community college and then became a Head Start site supervisor. Then she moved to Florida to work with the Early Head Start and Head Start programs as the quality assurance coordinator and enrollment coordinator. Afterward, she joined Rosen Preschool in Parramore as assistant director and was later promoted to executive director.

Jennifer — born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit — lives in Clermont, Florida, with her husband, three children, and two dogs. Jennifer loves to shop and is often teased by her husband that she should be a personal shopper. She also enjoys reading and spending as much quality time as she can with her children, which included a stint as a board member at her son’s school. Jennifer values this time because she knows as her children age, they will become more independent.

Her family strives to be kind, loving, and compassionate to every living thing and even became a vegan household, which they have been since 2014. Each day they live by the inspiring words of the 14th Dalai Lama: “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”

Yolanda was born and raised in Central Florida, where her love for teaching began at an early age. As a child, she played the role of teacher for her younger brother at home in pretend-games of school. She would give her brother worksheet assignments to complete and took him on field trips to the local community park. By the time she was nine years old, she was already volunteering at her brother’s preschool. Yolanda was always driven by her goal to teach.

By freshman year in high school, she completed all courses for the 45 mandated hours of Florida childcare training and received college credits towards her degree in early childhood education. After completing the early childhood program at Brantley High School, Yolanda accepted a Florida Bright Futures scholarship to begin her studies in elementary and early childhood education at Seminole State College.

For Yolanda, nothing beats the thrill of each new day’s adventure, whether it is the joyful cries of children mastering a new skill or it is helping children succeed in overcoming a disability. She has enjoyed the last 15 years working in a classroom, which she considers her “happy place” even in her current leadership role. Yolanda’s goal for the Rosen Preschool program is to provide high-quality early childhood education in a safe, nurturing, and joyful environment. She hopes each child leaves with a passion for learning and for every parent to feel confident that their child is in the best care possible.

Yolanda enjoys crafting and journaling in her personal time, as well as traveling with her family, sightseeing, and trying new things. Outside of the joys she finds in a classroom, Yolanda is at her happiest cheering on her little ones at the sidelines of a baseball match or dance competition.