Rossmery Dais, the oldest of three girls in an immigrant family, has always had a passion for helping others.
Today, Dais is a labor and nonprofit executive who serves as executive director of the 1199SEIU Child Care Funds and president of the 1199SEIU Child Care Corporation. Her primary focus is leading one of the nation’s premier labor-management partnerships.
Dais was born in RÃo Piedras, Puerto Rico, and raised in the Bronx. Both of her parents were born and raised in the Dominican Republic and immigrated to New York City when she was 3 years old.
Spanish was her first language. She was in a bilingual kindergarten class before transitioning to English-only instruction in first grade. That experience gave her an early understanding of what it means to navigate different cultures and systems, and she says it has helped shape how she connects with people today.
Dais loves turtles. She said, “Those who know me joke that I have a turtle collection because people are always gifting me turtle items — and I have hundreds of them.”
She loves that turtles carry their protection with them but still have to stick their necks out to move forward. To her, that represents being brave enough to put yourself out there while remaining steady and persistent.
Having risen through the ranks from direct service to an executive role, Dais learned that every organizational decision affects individual lives and futures.
She prioritizes staying connected with members through one-on-one interactions at registration events to improve program delivery.
Becoming a mother for the first time was a major turning point in her life. She believes it is the biggest responsibility she has ever had.
She also said, “I am honored to have the opportunity to raise little people who I hope will become caring, compassionate, and engaged members of their communities.”
Dais knew from an early age that she wanted to help others.
“As the eldest of three girls in an immigrant family, taking care of and advocating for others came naturally to me,” she said.
In college, she thought she would become a psychologist or teacher, so she majored in human development. That ultimately gave her the flexibility to build a career in the nonprofit world.
The 1199SEIU Child Care Funds has served more than 460,000 children since its inception, fostering generational wealth and stability for health care workers’ families.
Having worked through various roles, Dais emphasizes that executive decisions must always consider their impact on individual families rather than viewing them as mere administrative tasks.
Dais describes herself as a very empathetic person. That empathy led her to take the problems she was trying to solve at work home with her. She would often put others before herself without considering how that could affect her.
“I had to learn that in order to be most helpful to others, I also had to take care of myself first,” she said.
Dais has had times when she doubted her career but never gave up.
“There were points in my career when I questioned my purpose and wondered where I should go next, including when I decided to attend graduate school,” she said.
“At times, I considered going into the private sector, potentially making more money and finding other ways to help people. But my heart always led me back to the nonprofit world. I realized that for me, the reward is knowing that the work I do can have a lasting impact on children and families.”
Dais’s biggest challenge is wanting to do more for others while being limited by available resources.
“I’ve learned to focus on what I can do, make the most of what I have, and never lose sight of the people we’re trying to help,” she said.
Dais grew up around strong, independent women, especially her maternal grandmother, Bina.
“She was strong, hardworking, and generous, and she was always the first to help others. I truly believe she planted in me the desire to build a career centered on helping people,” Dais said.
Over the next three to five years, Dais aims to expand benefits to more health care institutions and diversify the portfolio of available programming.
Her goal is to replicate successful models like the Future of America Learning Center for the broader community through the 1199 Chapter Corporation nonprofit arm.
