Adam Roversi ‘12 is the current Director of the Kaua‘i County Housing Agency, where he is spearheading affordable housing projects across Kaua‘i. Roversi has served in this position since his appointment by Kaua‘i Mayor Derek Kawakami in 2019, and his unique backstory led him to his current success as Housing Director. Roversi graciously accepted ELP’s request for an interview, and this blog post is based on that discussion.

Roversi grew up on the East Coast of the United States and moved to Hawai‘i after high school to be closer to his family on Kaua‘i. He attended undergrad in Oregon and obtained degrees in American History and Literature. Roversi’s inspiration to attend law school stems from a dispute between his ʻohana’s loʻi on Kauaʻi and an upstream neighbor. His extended family on Kauaʻi has one of the last taro lo’i in Wainiha Valley, and this dispute inspired him to apply to law school to make a difference.

Roversi knew he wanted to study law in Hawai‘i, so he applied exclusively to the William S. Richardson School of Law. His favorite classes were Professor Kapua Sproat’s (ʻ98) Environmental Seminar, all of Professor Denise Antolini’s environmental courses, and, to his surprise, Constitutional Law with former Dean Avi Soifer and Professor John Van Dyke. Roversi found Con Law fascinating because it broadened his appreciation of the law while fostering his love of history. He even ended up being a Teaching Assistant (TA) for that class in addition to taking the upper-level Con Law class. Funnily enough, while a TA, Roversi created a hypothetical essay question that was almost identical to the question provided on the final exam!

During his first summer in law school, Roversi received a grant from a nonprofit group to work with the Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF) to write a primer on a Kuleana tax credit law. This was to help Native Hawaiian residents obtain tax exemptions to keep their Kuleana lands. (Kuleana lands are properties granted to makaʻāinana or commoners under the Kuleana Land Act of 1850. These are documented through a Land Commission Award and confirmed by a Royal Patent, signifying ownership and release from government claims.) His work culminated in an informational brochure and community meetings to inform the community of the tax credits. During Roversi’s second summer, he worked as a law clerk with EarthJustice, which ended up being his favorite summer experience during law school.   

After spending six years as a Kaua‘i County Deputy Attorney practicing general civil litigation, Roversi transitioned his focus to housing and decided to run for County Counsel. Through this experience, Roversi made numerous connections, including to future Kaua‘i Mayor Derek Kawakami. This connection helped Roversi become the Kaua‘i County Housing Director, where he has served for over five years.

When Roversi inherited the title of Housing Director, the numerous new responsibilities of the position were sometimes overwhelming, as he had never run an entire county department before. However, he quickly became comfortable in the position, developing just over 400 homes to date and a pipeline of over a thousand additional units in development. He is currently leading three large master-planned projects–large-scale, carefully designed developments that integrate various types of land uses and infrastructure within a unified framework–each around 50 acres. All of these projects are dedicated to lower to middle-income residents, thereby expanding affordable housing availability to Kaua‘i residents. He even successfully increased the annual housing development budget from ~$3 million to ~$20 million in 2024. 

Roversi is passionate about generating affordable housing for his community. He is proud that his work challenges the idea of housing attainability on Kaua‘i. He laments that many realtors and news stations focus on flipping homes because it promotes the view of homes as primarily a financial investment rather than a necessity of life. The Kaua‘i Housing Agency, however, focuses on keeping housing affordable rather than on reaping the benefits of investment development. The County does this by distributing the land through cost-controlled leaseholds, allowing it to sell homes to residents while keeping costs low. This is essential for local people living on Kaua‘i because they often cannot outcompete investors looking to develop land. 

As Housing Director, Roversi has learned that the key to running a successful department is to collaborate and work together with his staff. His daily duties involve checking in with the staff and assisting them with their duties regarding numerous ongoing projects. Roversi focuses on training everyone in their respective positions and providing them with the knowledge and resources to complete their work independently without him micro-managing. He splits his time between writing and responding to emails, speaking at public events, collaborating with other department heads, and communicating closely with the Mayor.

Roversi reflected that the most valuable thing he gained in law school were the personal connections he made in Hawai‘i. The law school provided Roversi with numerous opportunities to meet judges, attend seminars, and extern, which played a key role in building the relationships that shaped his career. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining those connections, as they were among the most valuable contributors to his success as a practicing attorney.

Roversi shared that he is thankful he took classes that truly interested him and “put [a] fire in his belly,” rather than focusing on only bar classes. He recommends current law students to take classes that strengthen their writing skills because as a litigator and clerk for former Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald at the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, writing skills were the most important factor in his success.

K.G.