Hello!
I am Rocío Santiago and my day-to-day life revolves around a huge but exciting challenge: to promote financing to rehabilitate homes and make them more efficient.
Look, in Spain, 8 out of 10 homes are energy inefficient. That means most of us live in buildings that lose heat in winter, retain heat in summer, and, on top of that, make us spend more on energy than necessary. Renovating isn't just about sustainability; it's also about comfort and savings for families.
For this transformation to reach more homes, we need to join forces: the public and private sectors, and an ecosystem of partners to make it possible. And here, financing plays a key role. At UCI, we work to ensure that homeowners' associations and individuals can access flexible solutions, eliminating the fear of initial costs and paving the way to more efficient buildings.
I've been in the ICU since 2006, growing through different projects: I started as an account executive, then became a regional manager for the mortgages.com digital channel, and in 2023 I took over as head of the rehabilitation agencies in Andalusia and the Valencian Community. Each step has connected me more with urban regeneration and energy efficiency, but above all with people and their needs.
I love walking through my homeland, my village, and El Rocío, a wonderful and unique place in the world. I also consider every city "my village." Observing it, understanding it, and thinking about how to improve it is what drives me. And that's because, for me, working with people is much more than managing projects or securing funding. It's about talking to them, feeling close to them, understanding their concerns, and, above all, wanting to improve their daily lives.
I've always believed that things truly change when we start with the real needs of communities, when we listen to those who experience the problems firsthand and seek solutions that make their lives easier. That's why rehabilitation isn't just about energy efficiency or sustainability; it's about well-being. It's about enabling people to live better in their homes, in their neighborhoods, in their cities. And if we want to transform the world, let's begin by improving the places where we live.