Jim is a life long resident of the Cedar Valley. He grew up in Cedar Falls and graduated from Cedar Falls High School in 1975. He attended Iowa State University where he received his B.S. in business in 1980 and he is currently taking classes at ISU in pursuit of an architecture degree.

Jim has been awarded the professional designation of CRS, GRI. He obtained his Real Estate Sales License in 1992 and his Real Estate Brokers License in 1995. He is a past president of the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Board of Realtors. His expertise is in Design/Build/Rehab. He has also been involved in Historic Preservation projects, new home development and residential sales.