www.jimBell.coI am a philanthropist, entrepreneur, and human connector. My passion in life is creating projects that allow me to contribute to the community and make the world a little bit better. The drive to connect people and use my position in order to give back to others is really the core of everything I do. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate to be a part of a variety of different charitable organizations. I was the youngest member of the Washington National Opera’s Board of Trustees, former Vice President of the board for the Starlight Children’s Foundation, a board member for the Georgetown Club, and a Governing Board member for the American Institute of Architects. I am by nature a very empathetic person, which is why I feel I’ve been drawn to projects that allow me to give back. I believe people are, at their core, generally good and feel a need to help those around me any way I can. After the real estate downturn of 2008, I shifted from being a patron of the arts to projects that help ease people's daily struggles in a meaningful way. My favorite projects to work on involve merging my two greatest loves: food and altruism. During my career I’ve worked as an assistant mortgage backed securities trader, a Fannie Mae underwriter, and finally the head of First Union Bank mortgage division before making the shift to real estate. By having these launch points, I developed a solid banking knowledge foundation that has been crucial in allowing me to provide top level service to my real estate clients today. My success in real estate and other ventures can largely be attributed to the fact that I love helping others and creating personal connections. Over the years, I have become a consistently high-performing business leader by primarily focusing on one thing: creating authentic client relationships built on trust. It’s the personal connection and trust from my clients that has led me to close over $600 million in real estate transactions, be named a ‘Power Broker’ by Washington Magazine, and one of ‘America’s Best Real Estate Agents’ by the Wall Street Journal. I believe that in order to be successful in business, you have to understand not only what your client wants, but why they want it. When you truly understand your client on a personal level, and they trust that you have their best interests at heart, that’s when you’re really able to make magic happen.