ROCK HERMON EMANUEL JEROME HACKSHAW was born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. He came to New York in 1973 and has lived here continuously ever since. He became a citizen of the USA in 1996, and now holds dual citizenship (USA & The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago). His father was a prominent politican, writer, diplomat and trade unionist on the island, from a politically active family. In New York, Rock graduated from Columbia University (B.A./1985), and later attained a Master's Degree from Fordham University (Public Communication/1987). He also studied Microeconomics and Macroeconomics at Hunter College, and did post-graduate studies in Education, at Brooklyn College.

                             He is a licensed Social Studies high school teacher, and has lectured at various universities and institutions of higher learning, including: The College of New Rochelle, The Manhattan Institute of Management and also within New York City's University System (CUNY)- at Brooklyn College,Bronx Community College and the Borough of Manhattan Community College. He has been very active on the political scene since coming to this country, and unsuccessfully ran for the N.Y. State Assembly in 1998. He has served as a political consultant/adviser to various candidates and elected officials, and once headed up a community based organization in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. He is a serious sports enthusiast and a depressed Knicks fan. He has played chess, scrabble and backgammon at the professional level/tournament circuit, and once represented Trinidad and Tobago at chess as a young man. He is a generous, humorous, loving father, who writes poetry as a hobby. He thinks that politics is "the only game in town".