Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Rosson graduated from George Washington High School in Indianapolis in 1952, and moved to El Paso, Texas, in 1954, "where she worked as a paralegal and businesswoman before launching a career in public service that earned her accolades from environmentalists, consumer advocates, and women across Texas".
[1] One source noted that "Rosson spent 25 years as a legal secretary and paralegal before making utility regulation a full-time volunteer job".
[1] Appointed alongside Alan Erwin to two vacant seats on the commission, at the time, Rosson was "praised by consumer advocates for her knowledge of utility regulation", and had been "fighting increases in El Paso electric rates for almost five years".
[3] She resigned from the commission later that year, and from 1987 to 1991, she "applied her expertise in utilities to representing the Office of the Attorney General on the State Cogeneration Council".
[1] She made clear during her campaign that she did not intend to restrict her role in the senate to the public utility issues for which she was known.