For Eva Angelina Romero, service has never been confined to one job, one organization or one season of life. The Nashville-area businesswoman has spent years building a career in real estate, serving in community organizations, advocating for homeownership and helping others find opportunities that once seemed far beyond her own reach. Through each new role, however, Romero said the foundation has remained the same: her Christian faith and a belief that her experiences—both the difficult and the rewarding ones—can be used to help other people. It is a perspective shaped by a life that looks dramatically different today than it did during her childhood.
Born to Mexican immigrants and raised in Los Angeles, Romero grew up as one of five girls in a home headed by a single mother. Her childhood included hardship, instability and abuse, and at 14, her mother arranged for her to marry a man 12 years older than she was. By 16, Romero was a mother herself. She would eventually become the first in her family to graduate from high school and attend college, work as a teacher and build a successful career in real estate. But those accomplishments tell only part of the story. For Romero, the greater transformation has been learning to see herself differently—and discovering that the difficult chapters of her life could give her a unique ability to see and serve others. That idea has even inspired the working title of a book she is writing: From Unseen to Unstoppable. It is a phrase that describes her own journey, but also the message she hopes to share through her professional life, community service and newest endeavor: a campaign for the Tennessee House of Representatives. “I’ve really felt called to do this in my season of life right now,” Romero said. “I want to provide strong leadership and to be a strong voice. I’ve served in a lot of different ways in different capacities, but this is a different level of service.”
Finding Your Voice
Romero’s decision to seek office in Tennessee House District 60, which includes Old Hickory, Hermitage and Donelson, is the latest chapter in a much longer story of finding her own voice—and encouraging others to find theirs. “I want to encourage people to know they have a voice,” she said. “I spent many years where I didn’t have my own voice, so I know from my own experience that we all have one.”
The campaign has given Romero an opportunity to spend more time talking directly with people throughout the community. Although she has scaled back some of her other service commitments to make room for the campaign, she continues to serve with organizations including the American Red Cross and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals. She also continues her work as a commissioner with the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, an appointment she received from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.
For someone who has served on boards, worked with nonprofits and spent much of her professional career interacting with families, Romero said some of the most meaningful moments of the campaign have been simple conversations. “I love this journey because people just want to be seen and heard,” she said. “Talking to people in the community has helped me see that.” She wants others to understand the importance of participating in their communities—including through voting. “If you don’t vote, you can’t be seen or heard,” she said. “It’s important to be part of the process.”
Stepping toward Faith
Long before Romero stepped into public and community leadership, however, she had to navigate struggles within her own life. After becoming a wife and mother at such a young age, she experienced depression and struggled with questions about her identity and purpose. She had been raised Catholic and always considered faith important, but during one of the most difficult seasons of her life, she began searching for a more personal relationship with God. A visit to her uncle’s Pentecostal church became a turning point. “I had reached a level of depression that I felt really lost. I was desperate to feel something other than the sadness,” she said, “I knew that there had to be something more.”
She remembers sitting in church and sobbing, then experiencing a sense that the pain was beginning to leave her. It was the beginning of a spiritual transformation that continued over the years. “In 1997, I was born again and baptized,” she said. “It changed my life, and helped me focus on something other than myself. I knew that something was bigger than me, something was bigger than my pain. I reconnected with God, and have learned so much on this journey.”
Romero began reading Christian books and Scripture and surrounding herself with a Christian community. Jeremiah 29:11—the familiar passage about God’s plans for hope and a future—became particularly meaningful.
That faith also changed the way she viewed success. Rather than seeing her career and accomplishments only in terms of personal achievement, she began to see them as opportunities for service.
“God is super faithful,” she said. “A lot of the things I visualized in my mind have become a reality. Years ago, I never thought I was worthy, but God took care of me.” God brought Romero to Nashville, where she began her professional journey as well.
After college, she became a teacher in Los Angeles. When her first marriage began deteriorating, she found herself facing another major transition as a mother trying to establish an independent future.
Real estate unexpectedly became part of that future.
While she was involved in selling a property to first time home buyers, a real estate agent recognized her potential and encouraged her to learn more about the industry. Romero began shadowing him and saw firsthand the need for a bilingual agent who could work with Spanish-speaking clients. She entered the profession in 2007, just as the country was approaching a major housing and financial crisis.
From the beginning, however, Romero saw real estate as something more than transactions. “I was really inspired by the work he was doing,” she said. “It wasn’t just sales. He was helping people, especially first-generation owners.”
That passion remains central to her work today. Romero is broker/owner of Century 21 Capital Properties and is also co-owner, with her husband, Dr. Jaime Romero, of Solace Oral Surgery and Implant Center. After the couple moved to Middle Tennessee, they built their businesses while also raising their family.
Her years in real estate have given her an up-close look at both the promise of homeownership and the obstacles that can make it difficult.
“I strongly believe in homeownership, and there are things we can do to make it better,” she said.
That professional experience is also influencing the issues she is discussing during her campaign. Among her stated priorities is property-tax reform, including freezing property taxes for homeowners over age 65 and placing limits on future property-tax increases. She sees such measures as connected to a larger concern she has carried throughout her real estate career: helping people obtain—and remain in—the homes they have worked to build.
Her experience as an entrepreneur has similarly shaped her interest in the needs of small-business owners. She knows firsthand the challenges involved in creating a business, employing people and serving customers while navigating the responsibilities that come with ownership.
Yet whether the setting is a real estate office, a nonprofit boardroom or a conversation with someone in the community, Romero returns to the same principle: people matter.
A Love of Nashville
When Romero and her husband first visited Tennessee in 2010, they quickly felt an attachment to the area. “We both fell in love with it,” she recalled. “We felt like it was home.” Moving meant starting over professionally. Romero earned her Tennessee broker license, while Jaime opened Solace in 2013. Eva went on to become the first Latina franchise owner with Century 21, while expanding her involvement in Nashville-area community organizations.
She became the founding president of the Nashville chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals and has served at the national level as well. Her other leadership and service experiences have included Greater Nashville REALTORS (current Board member), the American Red Cross, ELLA, the TLAF Foundation and the Tennessee Housing Development Agency. She has also participated in Stanford University’s Latino Business Action Network Executive Program and now an Alumi of Leadership Nashville. The list is long, but Romero’s motivation is more personal than a résumé of organizations and titles might suggest.
Romero believes that service can sometimes be as simple as recognizing someone who feels overlooked. It is one reason the idea of moving from “unseen” to “unstoppable” resonates so deeply with her. Romero’s life today in Nashville is full. Along with her professional responsibilities and public service, she and her husband continue to center their family in the life they have built in Tennessee.
But the woman who once struggled to recognize her own worth now views her influence as something to be stewarded rather than simply enjoyed.
That does not mean every season looks the same. At this point in her life, she has intentionally stepped back from some commitments to make room for new ones. The form of her service may change, but she says the calling behind it does not.
As she continues her businesses and community service, and travels throughout District 60 meeting residents, Romero hopes her story communicates something larger than any particular professional achievement or leadership position.
Her own childhood taught her what it feels like to live without stability. Her early marriage taught her what it feels like to have little control over the direction of her life. Becoming a young mother taught her responsibility long before most teenagers encounter it. Divorce and single motherhood forced her to rebuild. Entrepreneurship taught her persistence. And faith gave those experiences a larger purpose. “My faith has kept me moving through all these seasons,” she said.
—Cheryl Wray – cherylswray@gmail.com,
Author, Freelance Writer, Speaker
