William Roderick "Rod" Hamilton

Lawyer William Roderick “Rod” Hamilton was born on October 16, 1947 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Charles Jordan Hamilton Sr. and Geraldine Hamilton. In 1965, Hamilton graduated from Westinghouse High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received his B.A. degree in politics from Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey in 1969 and his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1975.

After graduating from Princeton University, Hamilton worked as a field representative for the National Urban League in 1970. In 1973, he joined Joe Hill Associates as a deputy director and was later promoted to director. That same year, Hamilton began working as a consultant for the National Office for Social Responsibility. Hamilton then became the vice president of the National Office for Social Responsibility in 1975. He also joined the law firm Webster & Sheffield as an associate in 1976. In 1981, Hamilton was hired as the president of MCA New Ventures, a minority small business enterprise investment company subsidiary of the Music Corporation of America (MCA). He then served as a legal intrapreneur for MCA, Inc. in 1983, vice president of the MCA Recreation Group in 1986, and vice president of legal and business affairs at the MCA Development Company in 1988. Hamilton left MCA, Inc. in 1996 and became vice president of development at Catellus Development in Emeryville, California. In 1999, Hamilton was hired by Isaacson, Miller as a search consultant. He joined the Los Angeles Unified School District in Los Angeles, California in 2001, where he worked as a regional development manager and consultant for almost ten years. In 2011, Hamilton became the principal of WRH Advisors, a consulting firm focused on redeveloping educational facilities, where he served for eight years. Hamilton also worked as a regional program manager for McKissack & McKissack and a subconsultant for Jacobs Engineering in 2019.

Hamilton co-founded the Association of Black Princeton Alumni in 1972. He also served on the boards of the Los Angeles Education Partnership, the Claremont College Consortium, and the SEED School of Los Angeles County.

Hamilton received the inaugural Frederick Douglass Service Award from Princeton University in 1969.

Hamilton lives with his wife, Bonnie Boswell Hamilton, in Los Angeles, California. They have two children, Taylor Whitney Hamilton and Evan Boswell Hamilton.

William Roderick “Rod” Hamilton was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on January 31, 2025.