CONNECTING WITH SJREI’S DIRECTOR GERALDINE BARRY JOHANNA ASH
Connections...connecting with others is a key to
Barry’s success. As a real estate investor, Barry
found the work a Barry bit too solitary without any
co-workers around. Not one to settle, she took
matters into her own hands and founded SJREI, a
real estate investor’s association that serves the Bay
area.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day!” Barry reminds me.
Barry says that she often draws inspiration and
Maybe, I think, but it certainly started with a strong
discovers learning opportunities from connecting
foundation. So, too, I learn, did Barry. Her story
with other investors and professionals in the
begins in southern Ireland: a small town called
industry; it’s no wonder that SJREI’s motto is
Cashel. The town derives its name from the nearby
‘Connecting People...Educating Investors’. Through
Rock of Cashel, an awe-inspiring castle built in the
being an active participant in SJREI, Barry is able to
12th and 13th centuries that has withstood the test
stay on top of new trends, technologies and ideas.
of time. Though Barry emigrated to the United
She appreciates the fresh perspective that her
States with just $500 and a return ticket to Ireland
SJREI community of like-minded investors lend her
should she need it, she clearly had with her the
work.
sort of wealth that many of us spend a lifetime
trying to accrue: she was rich in confidence and
It’s easy in real estate investment, Barry warns, to
motivation. She possessed the ability to succeed in
rely
whatever field she chose. Barry, like the Rock of
complacent. Through talking with others in the
Cashel she grew up with, clearly has a strong
business, she is able to look at her work with a fresh
foundation. Her father, she says, was the sort of
man who, though he didn’t travel much, could tell
you something about any country in the world. His
secret was books. He imparted onto Barry an
appreciation for and a love of books at an early
age. If you can read, Barry implies, you can do
anything you set your mind to. “Read 12 nonfiction
books a year to change your life” Barry suggests.
She goes on to share some of the books she has
recently read; after our chat I find myself with a list
of books I can’t wait to check out of the library (and
I haven’t been to the library in months). Even in an
interview, Ms. Barry can’t help but motivate and
mentor.
upon
a
property
manager
and
become