[2] Following her studies, she worked until 1959 as a psychiatric social worker at Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago before becoming a full-time mother.
[5] Villarosa later attended the Graduate School of Social Work Doctoral Program and College of Law at the University of Denver.
[5] She worked temporarily as the employee relations manager at the United Bank of Denver during this time and later became Vice president of Human Resources and Strategic Planning.
[6] She moved to New York City and opened the Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe in Harlem featuring a large collection of books by African-American authors.
[8] It hosted events featuring former President Bill Clinton,[9] Terry McMillan, James Baldwin, Colin Powell, Wynton Marsalis, and Toni Morrison.