James Wacht

James Wacht, a native New Yorker, has been active in the real estate industry since 1981. He currently serves as President of Sierra Real Estate and President of Lee & Associates NYC (Lee NYC). Mr. Wacht began his career as a real estate attorney with Bachner, Tally, Misher, Brinberg & Polevoy, where he honed his professional skills representing institutional real estate companies and entrepreneurial business people from every facet of the real estate industry, including commercial leasing, property acquisitions and mortgage financings, and real estate syndications. In 1989, he was invited to join his client, Sierra Realty Corp. (the predecessor to Sierra Real Estate), as its general counsel; he became its president and principal owner in 2000. During his tenure at Sierra, Mr. Wacht engineered the growth of the Company from a small real estate management firm to the full-service real estate company it is today. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the national Lee & Associates Company. He was recently appointed to serve on the Real Estate Board of New York Board of Governors. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of The Community Housing Improvement Program, an advocacy organization of owners of multi family housing; the Board of Directors of Housing New York PAC, a political action committee formed to support local elected officials who favor sensible housing legislation; and the Board of Directors of the New York Council for The Appleseed Foundation, a not-for-profit organization comprising 16 justice centers in the United States and Mexico. He also has served on The Board of Directors of the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, where he spearheaded efforts to establish music programs in public schools throughout the South Bronx and in other underserved New York City communities. He holds the Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Juris Doctorate from the Boston University School of Law.