Meet Courtney James

Urban Durham Realty founder Courtney James brings her environmental concerns to work, works hard to shine a spotlight on local vendors and local resources, and employs some unique marketing strategies.

Born in Mexico City, Courtney grew up in South Florida, an area she describes as being much more akin to the Northeast corridor of the United States than to the South. Her early years involved much time playing in the undisturbed coastal forests and on the pristine beaches, which created an awareness of and ongoing appreciation for nature and outdoor activities.

Courtney and her husband, a physician at Duke, moved to Durham in 1999. Her mother’s work as a realtor and her father’s love of houses meant that family vacations would often consist largely of driving looking at houses. James spent nine years in that profession before opening her own company in 2009.

It was this experience that led to her environmental awareness and orientation. Selling houses provided a great opportunity to educate clients as to the use of “green” materials, energy-efficient practices, and even “green” financing, and she ended up becoming a certified Eco-Broker.

Courtney attended Clean Energy Durham’s 2008 fundraising breakfast and admired the community education and outreach approach, which mirrored her own commitment to educating her clients and to working at the local level. She has been a supporter ever since.

That unique marketing strategy? When showing houses, Courtney will often hide a toy orange chicken somewhere on the premises. If the client discovers the location they can call or text the office and receive a gift certificate for a local business. This is just one way she manifests her support for the local economy and, as she puts it, “It’s not every realtor who will choose an orange chicken as their mascot.”

–Profile by Clean Energy Durham Volunteer Martin Eagle

2030 Society members have pledged multi-year support and recognize Clean Energy Durham as a community leader helping the city and county reach their goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the year 2030.

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