2020 Forty Under Forty: COCO FONTAO, 37

COCO FONTAO, 37 REALTOR, WNC REAL ESTATE Photo by Amber Shumake

COCO FONTAO, 37

REALTOR, WNC REAL ESTATE

Coco Fontao is consistently one of the top producers at WNC Real Estate, a leader in the industry and does much to help others succeed, said WNC Partner Michael Crain.

“Her impact on the Latino real estate community that is often underserved is remarkable. She works low-end deals and sacrifices many extra hours of her valuable time going above and beyond for clients that may or may not qualify for a home simply because she wants to help a population where others would often not,” Crain said.

- FWBP Digital Partners -

“She has served as a conduit for an underserved Hispanic community within Tarrant County, helping dozens of families live their dreams of home ownership. She also works with Habitat for Humanity, serving people and families in need find home ownership,” said WNC Partner Will Northern.

Fontao was born in Durango, Mexico, and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas, Walton College of Business, Champions School of Real Estate. She worked as a financial director in a hospital before moving to Texas in 2009.

Fontao says the people at WNC and her husband, Alfonso Roldan, are her support team.

“It takes a Tribe to Thrive and I have the best one,” Fontao said.

- Advertisement -

– Paul K. Harral

Where did your first paycheck come from?

Springdale (Arkansas) Public School Systems in 2000. I was already helping out with translations at the office, so they hired me as a teacher aide for summer school.

What movie, TV series, play or video game influenced you growing up?

- Advertisement -

We grew up watching telenovelas and cartoons. But my grandmother has an enormous passion for education, so I was always involved in extracurricular activities for arts, crafts, music which really had an influence on me. When I was in my teen years, I started reading Carlos Fuentes and from there on my passion for books took off. Today, I have 213 audiobooks.

What other profession would you like to try?

Professional Life Coach. I would love to help people help themselves. Depression is real and the Latino community is not at all aware of it. It hurts my heart to know how little information there is in Spanish.

Tell us about an influential person in your life, how they influenced you and why he or she was important.

My mother. I have never met someone as ethical, determined and strong as she is. My dad passed away when I was 8 years old. My mom has been a single mother since and we cannot think of something we needed that she was unable to provide. She is a woman of her word, and an amazing human being.

She gave me the strength to follow my dreams, set the example for me to not give up and to continue going, I have no clue on how to quit. Anything I start, I must finish. She has been most loving and strict at the same time with my brothers and me. She is my role model, and overall, she is my rock.

When did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up?

I think I was 5 years old. I didn’t know that I was going to be a Realtor, but I did know that I loved helping out people and paperwork. So here I am, making dreams come true by educating my clients in the process of acquiring Real Estate.

What is your favorite song?

The Champion, Carrie Underwood

Tell us about your photo shoot prop.

The first school picture of my babies. And my planner. Those two rule my life. My kids are the push I need every day. They keep me grounded they show me grace day in and day out. My planner is my boss (literally). All my tasks, events, lists are in there. If something is not there, then it’s not happening. I go by it 100%. I owe my organization to this book and my motivation to these two wonderful little humans.