SARASOTA'S REALTOR

Jessika Arman is a proud graduate of Sarasota’s Riverview High School, Out of Door Academy and lifelong resident of beautiful Siesta Key and Sarasota, Florida. Jessika's son, Luka Valdivia, attends Pine View School, Florida’s #1 high school for the gifted as a legacy student. Jessika's family was instrumental in the establishment of the school in 1969, with her cousin a member of its first graduating class. 

 

Jessika graduated Boston University and Emerson College, and holds a MA in political science and a communication BA. She served her country at the US Embassy in Berlin, Germany and worked at Discovery Channel in their International Network Operations prior to returning home to Sarasota and becoming a Realtor in 1998. She has been a member of RASM’s (Realtor Association of Sarasota Manatee) Global Business Council since 1998 and has served on various boards of the association, and once led a trade mission for the Sarasota Association of Realtors to Munich, Germany.

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Jessika and her son are the last descendants of the Starker family still residing in the Sarasota area (relations of the world-renowned Grammy winning cellist, Janos Starker, and his pop star Grammy nominated and Juno Award winning grandson, JP Saxe). Her uncles Jay and Zebo Starker were Sarasota icons, having moved to the area in 1959, owning shops for jewelry, and leather works.  Everyone in town wore Starker sandals, or owned a piece of their work, including the Allman Brother’s Band, for whom they made guitar straps.

 

Jay Starker, a huge supporter of Sarasota’s arts, is credited for starting many of the art organizations/happenings we still enjoy today, including the Bohemian, Sunday, Siesta Key Drum-Circle, a phenomenon celebrated up and down the area’s Gulf Coast beaches. Jessika is launching an arts scholarship in Jay Starker’s name which will sponsor underprivileged youth in their quest to pursue the arts.

 

Jessika’s father, Major Dr. Theodore Stein, M.D., was a physician to many of Ringling’s circus acts and was involved in establishing Sarasota Memorial Hospital’s reputation as a world-class facility.  Jessika’s mother, Ute Stein, a socialite, and patron of the arts, supported many of the area’s budding artists many who are now internationally known. Ute, Jessika’s aunt and their friends, were some of the first real estate agents at Michael Saunders & Co, when she opened her doors in 1976 on St. Armands Circle. 

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Jessika is one of only twenty-four Sarasota area Realtors that has been nominated nine times by her clients and Sarasota Magazine to earn Sarasota Magazine’s prestigious “5 Star Realtor, Best In Client Satisfaction Award”.  She holds the following industry certifications and designations: CLHMS-Guild, (Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, Million Dollar Guild Member), ABR (Accredited Buyer Representative), AHWD (At Home With Diversity), CIPS (Certified International Property Specialist), GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute), RSPS (Resort & Second Home Property Specialist) and TRC (Transnational Referral Certification).

 

Continuing education is very important to her, as she endeavors to pass on her knowledge and experience to better serve her clients, industry and community. She is constantly learning! In her spare time, she serves as the President of the Environmental Caucus of Sarasota County giving back her time to the community by addressing issues concerning water-quality, pollution, population density and its impact on quality of life in Sarasota and surrounding counties.

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Jessika is an avid sheller, boater, and fisherwoman and grew up on the barrier islands of Siesta and Longboat Key.

She makes an environmentally themed donation after every sale she makes in her clients’ name.