People joke that Jim can make the simple, complex, but his love of complexity has served him well in this era of cyber communications.

He was born in California's Bay Area, the second of four brothers. Jim met his wife while attending Occidental College. For a short time he was an elementary school teacher in a progressive school in Pasadena. He soon changed jobs to support his growing family (twins).

He studied to become an estate & business analyst and discovered he loved to figure out the complex relationship of many moving parts in a financial plan. He developed and received a patent for an analytical computer program used in the industry to assess life insurance product risk. It accurately predicted the problems many policy holders are experiencing today.

He continued his career after moving to Oregon's Willamette Valley, consulting with bank trust departments and financial institutions to provide insurance portfolio risk assessment.

Jim's love of computer technology and understanding of finances, combined with his unbridled creative side, made him receptive to helping artists film, produce and market workshops. He and Lynn "quit their day jobs" in 2001 and have since worked full time building Creative Catalyst.