After graduating from college, Roosevelt moved to Kentucky, where she joined the faculty of Western Kentucky University; there she taught museum studies and worked on the staff of The Kentucky Museum for almost eight years. In 1983, she moved to Chicago as a freelance collection consultant. She was later named the first director of the Center for Scandinavian Studies at North Park College in Chicago.
In 1987, Roosevelt refocused her efforts to pursue her lifelong interest in politics, working for the Democratic National Committee. In 1989 she managed Senator Paul Simon's Chicago office and his 1990 re-election campaign. The following year, Roosevelt was a consultant for the "Daley for Mayor" campaign. In 1991, she became the first executive director of the Museums in the Park, an organization representing the political interest of the nine museums located on Chicago Park District land.
From 1996 through 1998, she served as the director of the Mayor's Office of Program Development for the City of Chicago, and in January 1998, she began as executive director of the Brain Research Foundation, an affiliate of The University of Chicago. Recently, when Boeing relocated to Chicago, Roosevelt became director of Community and Education Relations for Boeing's Corporate Offices.
Roosevelt chairs the March of Dimes Leadership Development Institute. She also serves as a board member of Roosevelt University, Spelman College, an advisory board member of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, an advisory board member for the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and a member of the Chicago Sister Cities Casablanca Committee. She is also a board member of the National Archives Foundation, chairs the advisory committee for the Center for New Deal Studies at Roosevelt University and co-chairs the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in New York.
Born in Pasadena, Calif., Roosevelt graduated from Stanford University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in art and art history, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning a Master of Science degree in library science.