and appropriately addressed can have significant repercussions for the company and , in individual cases , for the victim — not only in the workplace but in their personal life ,” Roos says . “ Having the opportunity to provide legal counsel in order to reduce these risks for the company and its employees is very rewarding .”
Roos stays busy outside of law as well . She lives north of Pittsburgh and enjoys the city ’ s sports , arts , outdoor recreation and great restaurants .
“ It ’ s also still close to West Virginia , so I can easily visit Morgantown for football and basketball games and to visit friends ,” she says .
Roos and her family are avid travelers , having been throughout Europe and to Israel , South Africa , New Zealand , Costa Rica , Cuba and , many times , to Peru , where Roos carries on a family tradition of charitable service in the city of Chimbote .
“ This commitment is critical to me ,” she says . “ I was raised by two parents who greatly valued service to the community and particularly those in need .”
Chimbote , Peru , is a city of over 300,000 residents located eight hours north of Lima . In the early 1960s , Roos ’ uncle , Monsignor Jules Roos , was one of a small group of missionary priests who learned of the extremely high infant mortality rate and lack of health care
there , particularly for the poor .
“ They built a three-room medical clinic to provide care for the migrants moving into Chimbote ’ s swelling slums ,” Roos says . “ Over the next 50 years , he and two nuns built the Center for Social Works — a maternity hospital that has had over 100,000 births , an outpatient clinic serving over 1,000 residents per day , a home for abandoned and neglected children and a home visiting service to take medical care on-site to those in the slums .”
Her father , Ken , was the architect for many of the buildings at the center . For 13 years , Roos has been a member of the board of the Chimbote Foundation , which provides financial support to sustain the center . Most recently , she chaired a 17-member ad hoc committee to develop a strategic plan and fundraising campaign that raised over $ 1 million to build a new clinic and increase the mission ’ s outreach and improve services to the poor of Chimbote .
“ I would say that the accolade that meant the most to me was the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Papal Honor , which I received in 2017 ,” Roos says . “ The award is the highest honor that can be awarded to the laity by the pope and was given for my long-standing work on behalf of the poor in Chimbote , Peru .”
Roos was also actively involved for several years in the American Cancer
Society ( ACS ) Relay for Life , serving as co-chair for two years and team captain for several more years to honor two friends that died of cancer at young ages .
She said she ’ s also fortunate to have been involved in pro bono activities throughout her career . Along with pro bono work for the Chimbote Foundation , she has handled protection from abuse cases and represented clients in indigent divorce proceedings . Roos also has led a Street Law Legal Diversity Pipeline Program with colleagues at PPG in an effort to teach high school students about law in hopes of increasing diversity in the legal profession .
“ My parents instilled in my four siblings and me that we were very blessed and had a responsibility to always help those less fortunate ,” Roos says . “ Besides causes that are very personal to me — like the Chimbote Foundation and ACS Relay for Life — my interest is in supporting causes that promote social justice , the environment and animals .” •
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