Rogelio Carrasquillo, Carrasquillo Law Group, P.C.

Name: Rogelio Carrasquillo

Title: Founder & Managing Shareholder

Company Name: Carrasquillo Law Group, P.C.

List 2-3 real estate associations or organizations that you are currently a member of:

• Hispanics in Real Estate and Construction of New York
• IIUSA (Invest in the USA)

What recent project, transaction or accomplishment are you most proud of?

We are very proud of one of our latest projects, La Merced Elderly. This is an elderly affordable housing project incorporating different sources of capital including LIHTC, EB-5 Financing, local tax credits and bond financing. What I really like about this project is that it will be serving Puerto Rico’s elderly community in the metropolitan area, where affordable housing is becoming scarce. This project, when completed, is going to be a game changer making a real difference in the lives of one of the largest elderly communities in Puerto Rico. The quality of life for those in this community will be much improved and that is something that we are thrilled to get behind. Another satisfying thing about this project is that the developer is a women/minority owned company. Having a daughter, it is delightful to know that she can have role models who she can emulate, particularly in the real estate industry.

Who was/is your mentor and how did s/he influence/help you in your career?

My late father continues to be my greatest influence on both my professional and personal life. He was a proud American and a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, which impacted him in many ways. Becoming an attorney was always an aspiration as that was my father’s second act. In all the people I’ve worked with during my career, my father has always been the most inspirational as he was a real student of the law. He had a passion for the law and making a difference in people’s lives. He always reminded me that no matter what we do in life we should make it our passion and build our own path. He used to say that the only way to go is forward and I try to live by those words.

How do you contribute to your community or your profession?

My unofficial motto is “work must have a purpose.” With that in mind, and with what my father did for those who needed an attorney, my firm, CLG, takes on many affordable housing (LIHTC) projects, as well as projects that have an impact in low-income communities and the elderly. While developers need to make money on those projects to quantify their investments, we work with clients knowing that what we are doing is going to lead to a greater good, whether it be to create more housing, a better sense of community, closer healthcare facilities, and so forth. We are very deliberate in the projects that we choose. We also know that when the private sector steps up and partners with the government, we can do great things and provide much needed resources and jobs to those that want to see their communities thrive. We need to be the catalyst of this economic development engine.

What led you to your current profession?

The inspiration from my father, which includes marrying passion with doing good work. I have seen time and again how much of a difference being an attorney has made on the lives of others and that is the best reward for the long hours and sacrifices required by our career. I enjoy waking up and heading to the office to join our CLG team as much as I did almost 25 years ago when I started practicing.

Top three things on your bucket list:

See my children, Rogelio, and Alessandra, graduate from college; tour Skywalker Ranch and have dinner with George Lucas; and work as a voice over actor for cartoons. These have mostly remained the same as last year, but we are one year closer to seeing my kids graduate. This year, my oldest is going to middle school and my youngest to fourth grade, although she thinks she is in college! I’ve yet to tour Skywalker’s ranch but have been recently working with my kids in learning the way of the Mandalorian. Worked on learning the drums this past year and after some unhappy neighbors not appreciating my drumming skills, I decided to pursue “quieter” goals. Recently joined the team of a radio show in Orlando and have been working on doing cartoon voice overs, which has been quite amusing for my children, but as my kids said to me: Dad please don’t quit your day job!

Favorite quote:

It continues to be “Traveler, there is no road; you make your own path as you walk.” –Antonio Machado