Ulrike Halpern

I was born and raised in a small town in Germany. At home, my mom always paid a lot of attention to our beautiful house and garden, no detail was left to chance. Although I wasn't aware of it at the time, that keen attention to the home had a big influence on me, and instilled in me my passion for homes and interiors.

My other passion, for as long as I can remember, has been getting to know people.  I love to hear stories of lives lived and plans for how life can be lived.

In my late teens, still living in Germany, I learned about meditation.  Meditation practice has been the biggest influence in my life.  Being a meditator has influenced the people I get to know, the places I have lived, and what is really important to me.

Early in my career I trained as a hair stylist and aesthetician. This allowed me to live in many places and was a great way to meet people.  I was able to live all over Germany, then in Paris, then New York City, and finally I came to Boulder.

My husband and I were married in a small ceremony in New York City in 1998. Then we decided to move back to Boulder, where he was born and raised. Shortly after that we celebrated the birth of our first son.  We bought our first home in 1999: a modest townhome near North Boulder Park.  To our surprise (and delight!), our second son was born just 14 months later.  We needed more space and so we sold our townhome and bought the house on our current lot in the Silvermaple neighborhood of North Boulder.

I was fortunate to be able to stay at home for the first 10 years of my boys' childhood. This experience was great training in being organized on all levels and working with unpredictable situations.

As our children grew, we started looking for more space again.  Instead of spending time looking at homes to buy, we decided instead  to remodel our existing house since we knew and loved the lot and neighborhood.  We thoroughly enjoyed that challenging project.  We are now two happy years into life in our beautiful new home.

From 2009 until 2015 I was the Executive Director of the Boulder Shambhala Center, a meditation and contemplative community center.I supervised a staff of 11 people and many volunteers. It was a wonderful, enriching experience, in which I learned a lot about running an organization and communicating with people on all paths of life.

I tend to be quite direct. Perhaps this has something to do with my German heritage, but I think it is also something I learned from my father, who ran a successful family business with his brother as a partner and many employees.  He taught me that it is always good to be direct in business dealings.

I trust that there is the right home for every person and the right person for every home. The process of real estate transactions can be challenging. I have learned to trust that the right situation will come along if you work hard in the areas you can control, and give things the opportunity to happen with a bit of magic, as well.