4 minute read
Meet Jeffrey Jackson- The 2024 President of Orange County REALTORS®
Installed as President on November 30, Jeffrey Jackson has long been interested in politics, government, law, and real estate. He believes that Orange County REALTORS® deserve an ear that listens to their concerns regarding the state of the industry today and the direction it may go in the future and a voice that speaks for them in addressing these concerns. His extensive education and experience in both law and real estate have prepared him to be that ear and that voice.
By Sherri Butterfield WRITER AND EDITOR
Jeffrey Jackson was born and predominantly raised in Indiana but spent his junior high and high school years in Celina, Ohio, where he graduated in 1976 from Celina Senior High School. For a time, he attended Miami University in Ohio before transferring to Indiana University in Bloomington.
Long interested in politics, government, and the law, Jeffrey earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Indiana University in Bloomington in 1980. Two years later, he graduated from Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs with a Master of Arts in Public Administration and went to Washington, D.C., where he spent four years working on Capitol Hill and for various trade associations.
Next, Jeffrey returned to Indiana, where he served as a staff member for Lieutenant Governor John Mutz and then worked as Director of Grant Administration for a leading architectural and engineering firm before entering the Robert H. McKinney Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis. Jeffrey received his Juris Doctor in 1995. After being admitted to the Indiana State Bar, he served as City Attorney for Seymour, Indiana, from 1998 to 2001. Jeffrey was also in private practice in Southern Indiana from 1998 until 2010, focusing on bankruptcy, criminal, family, and real estate law. In 2010, Jeffrey moved from Indiana to California, where he settled in Orange County and began serving as a legal consultant to various law firms.
Real estate is Jeffrey Jackson’s third career. After spending many years as a governmental policy specialist and more than twenty years as an Indiana attorney, he chose real estate “for a chance to create my own career without the necessity of working a nineto-five job, something I can do on my own time with my own effort.” Jeffrey obtained his real estate license early in 2014 and joined Orange County REALTORS® (OCR) later that same year. Currently, he serves as Senior Risk Manager for Realty One Group West.
At Orange County REALTORS®, Jeffrey has chaired both the Local Government Relations South Committee and the Political Affairs and Elections Committee (PAEC) and has served on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), Bylaws, and Professional Standards Committees. He was first elected to the Orange County REALTORS® Board of Directors in 2018. He is a Director for both the California Association of REALTORS® (CAR) and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and has served NAR as its Federal Political Coordinator for Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-47th District).
When Jeffrey is not involved in politics, government, or the law, he enjoys jazz, blues, hard rock, and Broadway music; all sports (especially the Chicago White Sox, the Indiana Hoosiers, and the Indianapolis Colts); and anything having to do with American history. He adds that he “appreciates having escaped the Midwestern snow and ice by living in Orange County.” Jeffrey’s son, John Benton Jackson, attends college in Indiana.
Installed as OCR President on November 30, Jeffrey Jackson has long been interested in politics, government, and the law. Although real estate is his third career, he believes strongly that Orange County REALTORS® deserve an ear that listens to their concerns regarding the state of the industry and the direction real estate may go in the future and a voice that speaks for them in addressing these concerns.
When Jeffrey Jackson ran for a position on the OCR Board of Directors, he said that he wanted to be that voice and that ear, and he promised to focus on REALTOR® education, to continue community and government outreach programs, and to implement additional programs and benefits for Association members. Now installed a President, he is in an ideal position to listen, to speak out, to be heard, to implement, and to accomplish great things.
