Our History

The Rasnic journey began in 2022, sparked by a strategic vision between cofounders Rochelle Bakare, President and CEO, and Rasaun Nicholson, Vice President and COO. At the time, Rochelle was deeply immersed in real estate investing and leading high-level IT projects, while Rasaun was entrenched in commercial field execution—having spent over a decade managing large-scale projects and refining his specialized skills in acoustical systems across colleges, hospitals, and theaters. Rasaun’s field leadership and passion for high-end trade execution seamlessly complemented Rochelle’s background in strategic governance and resource optimization. United by a shared vision to elevate commercial craftsmanship and drive community impact, they officially launched Rasnic Contracting on March 20, 2022.

From day one, Rochelle and Rasaun set out to replace traditional, disjointed contracting habits with an institutional, data-driven framework. Combining Rochelle's robust background managing multi-billion dollar portfolios and asset rehabs with Rasaun’s deep technical expertise, they engineered the company’s structural operational architecture from the ground up. They implemented advanced automated project controls and custom pipeline data tracking tools, ensuring that every project was governed with absolute fiscal precision. This rigid commitment to structural excellence and compliance allowed the cofounders to successfully navigate the strict validation processes required to secure the firm’s official SWaM certification.

While the firm initially executed specialized local projects across Hampton Roads, their deliberate focus on building an elite internal culture and automated workflows rapidly accelerated their market presence. A major scaling milestone was achieved in 2024 when Rasnic Contracting secured and flawlessly executed its first landmark enterprise contract: a massive acoustical ceiling installation spanning a 100,000-square-foot educational facility in Virginia Beach. This high-specification project officially propelled the company into the upper tier of Virginia’s commercial trade partners.

Today, Rasnic Contracting has evolved into a premier state-wide force executing high-performance acoustical ceiling and custom wall panel packages within complex corporate, educational, healthcare, and public infrastructure environments. Under Rochelle and Rasaun’s collaborative governance, the company has institutionalized a premier safety framework, earning the highly prestigious Diamond Level STEP Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors Virginia Chapter (ABC-VA). Furthermore, they have permanently secured their talent pipeline by launching the Rasnic P.A.T.H. Program—the first and only registered corporate Apprenticeship Program in the entire Mid-Atlantic region dedicated exclusively to the acoustical ceiling trade track. Moving forward, Rochelle and Rasaun remain steadfast in their commitment to delivering flawless execution, managing risk, and transforming both the architectural spaces and the local communities they serve.