THE POWER GENERATION profiles: Erin Rodi Rotolo

Erin Rodi Rotolo

Realtor

RE/MAX Affiliates

Age: 32

Erin Rodi Rotolo first got the inkling that sales might suit her when she was studying political science at the University of New Orleans. "I loved doing the polls for UNO," she says. "It made sense I got into sales because

She is now the president of the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors - the youngest person ever elected to that position. But although her father is a real estate veteran, she came to the field in a roundabout way.

During the summer of 1988 she interned in Washington, D.C., for former Sen. Bob Livingston. She got "Potomac fever" and stayed through 1991. When she returned to UNO to finish her degree, she started helping her father part time at his real estate office, RE/MAX Affiliates, then decided to get her license and eventually become a Realtor with the firm.

She entered real estate at an opportune time. Many of her friends were getting married and buying homes. Many turned to her for informal advice and she ended up representing them. Then two or three years later they came to her again as they moved to larger homes.

"So a lot of my success I have to attribute to the loyalty of friends putting their trust in me and allowing me to provide them a service."

She has earned several professional designations including certified residential specialist and accredited buyer representative. "It was a signal that I was taking my job seriously and set me apart from the typical Realtor," she says.

Rotolo says she enjoys helping people find houses, especially firsttime homebuyers. She tried to beg off taking the presidency of the Association of Realtors, saying it wasn't a good year to take on the extra work. "Someone told me 'You have to realize - it's never a good year.'" She hopes to get more local agents involved the organization.

Rotolo is an active member of the Junior League and is also a member of Dominican High School's advanced giving board. She is involved with the Louisiana Realtors Association and the Gulf South Real Estate Information Network.

She is also a member of the Krewe of Muses and is busy building a new house with her husband and daughter. She plans to eventually return to UNO and finish her political science degree.