Obituary

Former CEO and Founder of the ground-breaking Orange County nonprofit, Working Wardrobes, Jerri Lee Rosen, has passed at the age of 79. She tirelessly and courageously battled cancer over the past two years.

Ms. Rosen most recently served as Chair of the Executive Coaches of Orange County and vice-chair of her community residence, Reata Glen, and supported WISE (Women Investing in Security & Education) and The Invisible Theater in Tucson.

She was honored many times for her work with WW and her volunteer efforts, most recently as the first Woman of the Year by J.Jill, in 2020, for “making a difference to the Orange County community” and in 2021, was given both the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Angel Light Academy and the Sister Regina Fox Legacy Leader Award from the Orange County Grantmakers Summit.

A long-time fashion enthusiast, she combined that love with concern for women needing both skills and a great ensemble to ace a job interview. That led to the founding of Working Wardrobes for which she served as CEO until her retirement in 2021.

The organization also helped men re-enter the job market and she was particularly proud of the creation in 2012 of VetNet, which offered full wraparound services to both men and women to make the transition from the military into the civilian workforce, said her long-time friend, Jana Turner.

Jerri Lee Rosen was born in Pennsylvania to the late Mae and David Rosen. After the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona she graduated from West Phoenix High School and earned a degree in education from Arizona State University. Additionally, she went on to pursue graduate work at Thunderbird School of Global Management.

She pursued a career in marketing and sales for Del Taco and other food companies before launching her own advertising and marketing company, J.L. Rosen & Company, in 1990.

She is survived by legions of friends, thousands of grateful recipients of her nonprofit work, her beloved Harvey Kaufman of Reata Glen, her sister, Diana Rosen of Los Angeles, and numerous cousins.

An inveterate traveler, she first tasted world travel in her twenties and continued more intensely over the last 15 years with friends until her last trips to Amsterdam and Berlin. She always considered herself “passport ready,” Ms. Turner added. She announced that a Celebration of Life for Jerri Rosen is planned for June in Newport Beach.

In lieu of flowers, donations are www.workingwardrobes.org for Working Wardrobes at www.workingwardrobes.org.