About Lee

After spending a short time in sales early in his career, Lee decided he was best suited for owning his own business. In 1983 he & his brother began to operate a small “Mom & Pop” drugstore (sundries, cigarettes, candy & such) located under the ‘El” (elevated public transportation) in Northeast Philadelphia. He soon learned that it was impossible to compete with the drugstore chains that were booming in the area. Being the entrepreneur that he is he found that there were a number of times that riders of the public train were strapped for cash & needed money for a pass and decided to transform that little shop into his first “pawnshop.” From there he went on to open a few shops many of which were located in “strip centers” – a first for the pawnshop business. After running the shops quite successfully Lee decided his real passion was in the jewelry business. He went on to train at GIA (Gemological Institute of America) and the birth of Joint Venture Estate Jewelers began.

In addition to jewelry, Lee loves being outdoors and can be found mountain biking on the American Tobacco Trail, playing tennis with his girls (Lee is a USPTA teaching pro and has coached at both Green Hope High School and at Meredith College) or working-out with his personal trainers. Cars are another passion – just ask him about Mercedes and NASCAR! (We tease him about becoming "Southern" since moving to NC with becoming a part of the fan clubs of NASCAR and the PBR!)

About Donna

After attending The Pennsylvania State University, Donna decided to pursue her graduated degrees in Counseling Psychology and Social Work at Washington University in Saint Louis. While her emphasis was in interpersonal & family skills, dealing with life transitions, she soon discovered that we spend most of our adult life at work. If things are good at the office that often spills over into our personal lives as the opposite (bad work environment – unhappy at home) is true as well. She spent the next 22 years working in the human resource/organizational development arena. She was very successful in the corporate world representing a firm that taught management skills, teambuilding, problem solving, decision making and quality improvement. When the consulting firm she managed in North America was merged she opted out which at last allowed her to be home with her children and joined Lee in the business. You’ll find Donna using her sales & marketing skills at Joint Venture as she is often the creative talent behind their commercials, advertising and promotional events.

For fun you’ll find Donna right beside her husband at workouts and the bike trail. Truth is known her favorite pastimes are shopping and the beach!