Jeff Balys is a Barrhaven dad who raised two children here, and he has spent more than two decades working directly with families on the decisions that matter most to them.

He began his career in financial services with Investors Group and later Edward Jones, where he built a growing client practice in Ottawa's Blossom Park community. In 2001 he took an entrepreneurial step and co-founded NetWealth Realty Inc., which grew substantially in the Canadian mortgage brokerage industry before being acquired by Centum Canada in 2006.

From 2007 to 2012 Jeff dedicated much of his time to raising his two children, while staying active in commercial lending and mortgage financing. In 2012 he moved into real estate full-time, and has since built and led teams and held senior leadership roles as a team leader, coach, mentor and trainer.

That work is why he sees transit, housing and development as one connected problem rather than three separate ones. When a commute does not work, Barrhaven does not work for the family weighing whether to move here or stay.