James O’Donnell, Ph.D.
Owner
Life is rarely, if ever a straight line progression where everything develops according to plan. My life experience is no exception. I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and earned my Ph.D. in East European History from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
My career path was simple—-after receiving my doctorate I was going to be a college professor. However, the Cold War ended a couple of years too soon for me. Once the Berlin Wall fell, funding for East European studies went away and the jobs went away as well.
I pivoted and went to work doing import-export for many years in Eastern Europe so I was able to utilize my degree. Eventually I got tired of the endless travel so I returned to the United States looking to reinvent myself.
I became a licensed insurance agent helping clients with their health, life and retirement planning needs. I specialize in Medicare and high growth—ZERO Risk—retirement accounts. When markets go down—you don’t lose GUARANTEED and when the markets go up you share in the gains—a TRUE WIN-WIN situation.
My business partner is my long time friend and fellow licensed agent, Thomas Brickman. Tom and I formed JOD Financial to assist our clients who all face similar challenges. Let’s face it, it’s not easy navigating the complicated world of Medicare and retirement. Tom and I feel strongly that there is a better way of helping people in our communities. This is why we began JOD Financial and as they say, the rest is history.