About Me!

Who is she anyway?

Negotiation is a function of need, demand, situations. My first real memory of a successful negotiation is when I was in 6th grade. At that time we lived in San Rafael (only for a couple of years before returning back to southern California, Newport Beach in specific).

 

My folks had left me in charge of my three younger brothers for a couple of afternoon hours. They said if there was anything that needed their attention, those of us who could write should write the offense down, and those who couldn’t write should dictate the offense to one who could write.

Fair enough. Let the games begin! There was the typical bickering, some playing, and then the list-writing. Dad and Mom always came back on time. We could count on that. So about 15 minutes before arrival, I got the bright idea of comparing lists. I knew the boys had stuff on me. So if I agreed to drop one of my complaints about them, they had to drop one of theirs’ about me. In fairly short order we had the lists completely eliminated. It was a win-win-win situation. The third win was for our parents who came home to what they thought was a perfect, harmonious, and organized sibling afternoon.

So what do I bring to the table? A life rich in blessings, touched with tears, warmed by the sun, surrounded by a wonderful family and dear friends.

Being married to an aspiring yacht designer and watching our dreams come true over the years allowed us wonderful opportunities to negotiate our way successfully through economic challenges of self-employment, and negotiate daily with our wonderful kids who are now successful and entrepreneurial adults in their own right.

My background as a commercial pilot (encouraged by Carl and commencing after we were married), which included teaching in airplanes and gliders, delivering small planes across the country, repossessing planes when the new plane market went south, and hauling salmon in Alaska as a co-pilot in 4-engine DC4’s while I was pregnant with our son, has made me not only highly organized (checklists) but creative in finding solutions when non-standard procedures show up.

With the kids long out of college and on their own, and since Carl’s unexpected passing in 2002, negotiating through the challenges of these circumstances has added a completely new view to my experience. I have been amazed at how daily lessons learned, large and small, have often been able to offer perspectives applicable to many of my own clients’ situations.

So what do I bring to the table? A life rich in blessings, touched with tears, warmed by the sun, surrounded by a wonderful family and dear friends. Add to that over 30 years of full-time real estate work with an emphasis on Alameda real estate. It has allowed me to have a terrific repeat and referral business based on adding value long after a transaction has closed. Give a call. We’ll see if we have a mutually acceptable basis upon which to do business.

Community Service

Member of Christian Science church in various capacities: have been the treasurer, both 1st and 2nd Reader for church services, Church Board President. Currently: a Sunday School teacher,  Building committee chair.)

Member of the Alameda Chapter of the Bay East Association of Realtors, and Chair of the Local Government Relations Committee.

Initial organizer in 2004, upon the request of Alameda City Council Member Frank Materrese, of the Customer Service Improvement (CSI) Committee for the Alameda Building and Planning Department (aka Community Development Dept) made up of architects, designers, general contractors, a historian, and Realtors who meet quarterly with Alameda’s Building Official, Greg McFann, in an effort to improve systems, question processes, offer solutions, and see how technology is working within the department.

Hobbies

Bike riding all around town and on the Broker Tour

Gardening (roses, and container veggies)

Traveling (daughter lives in New Zealand with her husband, a Kiwi; son lives in San Diego with his wife and their 2 kids).

Flying – occasionally flying gliders or small planes just to see if I can still do it!

Professional Affiliations and Designations

• Real estate Broker, licensed in the State of California
• CRS Certified Residential Specialist
• SRES Seniors Real Estate Speciality
• ePro electronic/internet real estate professional
• Member Alameda Chapter of the BayEast Association of Realtors
• Member of the California Association of Realtors
• Member of the National Association of Realtors
• Completion of the five CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member) courses required for designation. These courses are considered the creme de la creme for commercial real estate practitioners. Each class is 1 week, around the country, and has tests that must be passed. I passed each class. I didn’t receive that designation, because I don’t have the body of work to support those requirements.