Rose Gallagher is a senior counsel in Ice Miller’s Public Finance Group where she serves as bond counsel and underwriter’s counsel for governmental transactions focusing on tax-exempt general obligations, lease financings, and revenue bonds for various units of local government in Indiana.  

Rose previously was a partner at a Chicago law firm, where she counseled governmental and corporate entities on federal securities law, Illinois state law, and federal tax law in connection with public finance transactions. She also chaired the firm’s Employment Committee and received the firm’s “Pro Bono Achievement Award” in 2010 for her pro bono service as a guardian ad litem with Chicago Volunteer Legal Services (CVLS). Using her legal skills, she advocated for the child's best interests, navigating the complexities of the legal system to produce the best outcomes for the child and the entire family support system.

Rose’s pro bono work with CVLS sparked her interest in social services, and she departed the law firm in 2013 to pursue a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago's Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice, where she was the recipient of the Vitale Family Scholarship. As she pursued a concentration in social administration, Rose gained a new perspective about policymaking, including the importance of using research evidence to inform practice and policymaking to best advance social well-being.

Upon graduation from the University of Chicago in 2016, Rose joined Start Early (formerly Ounce of Prevention Fund) as a policy specialist analyzing and advocating for federal, state, and local public policies, programs, and legislative issues impacting young children and families. She also managed grants from private philanthropic donors for policy, program, and research initiatives across the organization.

Currently, Rose volunteers as a child advocate for unaccompanied immigrant children at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights where she advocates for her assigned child’s best interests by meeting weekly with child and learning the child’s story. She also collaborates with Young Center attorneys and social workers to make recommendations that champion the child’s best interests.

Rose earned her juris doctor from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Indiana University and is a former member of the IU Board of Trustees. Rose received the IU Bicentennial Medal in September 2019 in recognition of her distinguished service as a trustee of IU.