Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs
Executive Senior Principal, Retired President & CFO
Lifescapes International, Inc.
Executive Senior Principal, (Retired) President and CFO of Lifescapes International, Inc., Julie Brinkerhoff-Jacobs has been active in the real estate industry her entire career. She worked for an architectural firm, followed by a commercial development firm, for the first ten years of her professional life. For over 4 decades, she focused on guiding the growth of the international, award winning landscape architectural firm, Lifescapes International. Located in Orange County, the firm’s projects include Bellagio and Wynn in Las Vegas, Fontainebleau Miami Beach, The Grove in Los Angeles, Rockefeller Center Channel Gardens, The Marke apartments in Santa Ana, as well as international projects One Sino Park in Shanghai and Phoenix Palace in Dalian, China . . . to name a few. She is a frequent guest speaker, lecturer and author on design and marketing-related issues for the industry. With an education in marketing, accounting, and creative writing, Julie oversaw the marketing, sales and financial management of the firm.
An Orange County resident, her breadth of activities includes memberships in a variety of professional and charitable organizations. She currently serves on the Executive Committee for the Board of Directors of HomeAid America as Vice President/Strategic Planning (and is also a cofounder of the organization) which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019. She is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (serving on the Entertainment Development Council), served for 17 years on the board of the BIA/Orange County in a variety of roles, including overseeing Community Involvement, is a NAHB Life Spike recipient and was inducted into the California Building Industry Hall of Fame in 2008. She’s the recipient of numerous professional awards including Orange County Businesswoman of the Year, Soroptimist International Woman of Distinction Award and the B.J. Stewart Lifetime Achievement Award for Community Involvement. She Co-Chaired the Women’s Leadership Initiative for the Urban Land Institute nationwide and regionally, served for three years in Orange County. She continues her commitment for mentoring women and helping young professionals achieve their own success by sharing her own experiences. She is married to Donald Jacobs, FAIA and has a daughter, Maya Rodgers, who is an entrepreneur artist and theatre manager and is married to Jason Rodgers, also her business partner in FE-O-RAMA, a custom haberdashery company.
She is an active supporter of Sherman Library and Gardens, serving on its Board of Governors, which focuses on the restoration and expansion of the precious botanical gardens and library situated in Corona Del Mar, California. Recently, her home was featured on the annual Newport Beach Garden Tour, benefiting the gardens. She was inspired to join this important effort through her parents, Donald and Barbara Brinkerhoff, who co-founded Lifescapes International over 66 years ago and enjoyed “Sherman Library and Gardens” for over 50 years.