Pinnacle Real Estate Academy

Meet Our Team

OUR MISSION: Our goal at PREA is to the raise the standard of education in Real Estate and to provide the latest tools, information, and technology while upholding the utmost customer service to our students. Pinnacle Real Estate Academy commits to bringing you top quality Instructors and Guest Speakers for all of our courses.
Not only in-person but online too!

Rich Christenbury

Rich moved to the eastern South Carolina area in 1991 and
earned his real estate license in 2004. Rich has 20 plus years of
experience in medical sales, and real estate sales. He has worked
as both a real estate agent and broker in charge and is currently a
full-time broker in the North Myrtle Beach area. Rich enjoys
helping buyers/sellers navigate the real estate sales process.

As an Instructor, Rich looks forward to helping students learn the
fundamentals of the real estate process and imparting his sales
experience to new South Carolina real estate professionals.

Kris Fuller

Kris Fuller has been licensed since 2006 and is a full-time licensed professional REALTOR and Instructor.
Her goal is to help clients and students through understanding the buying and selling process from
beginning to end. She specializes in Residential Real Estate, First Time Home Buyers,
2nd Homes/Resort Properties, and Investments in the Myrtle Beach and surrounding areas.

Chris Kavanagh

As a real estate professional and company trainer/coach, Chris
serves as an agent for single-family homes and condos all along
the Grand-Strand with a primary focus in Horry County. His goal is
helping clients maximize their real estate ventures.

Chris moved to Myrtle Beach from Rockland County, N.Y. in 2005.
Anyone that knows him recognizes he is a huge animal lover,
especially dogs. He received his South Carolina real estate license
in the summer of 2011.

Additionally, he is a graduate of Leadership Coastal Carolinas
Association of Realtors and graduate of Leadership Grand Strand,
both nine-month programs that develops a corps of informed,
committed, and qualified individuals capable of providing dynamic
leadership for the Grand Strand area. He is a member of the
National Association of Realtors and the South Carolina
Association of Realtors.

Jennifer Nicely

Jennifer Nicely is a mother of a pre-teen boy, french-english bulldog, and a dynamic entrepreneur, speaker and author with a lifelong passion for real estate. She has been in the industry since 2004 and counting. She loves sharing her knowledge, teaching others what she knows and helping people achieve their goals of success through education.

In 2012, after many years of working in the field as an agent, broker-associate, sales manager, speaker and property manager; it was time to open her own school – Pinnacle Real Estate Academy. As CEO/BIC/CDEI of this innovative company, she oversees all aspects from curriculum development to actual teaching in our classrooms

She is a licensed real estate professional with the South Carolina Real Estate Commission, North Carolina Real Estate Commission and Georgia Real Estate Commission. She received training from the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors and graduated in their 2019 Leadership program. She completed a 7 year apprenticeship between 2004-2011 with one of the top teams in the country, as well as studied marketing at UNC Charlotte. In addition to her designations above, she also holds the GSI (Gold Standard Instructor), CDEI (Certified Distance Education Instructor), ABR (Accredited Buyers Representative), e-Pro, SPS (Strategic Pricing Specialist), and C2EX (Certificate of Excellence) designation. She was the recipient of the REALTOR Image Award in 2022.

She has attended numerous professional development courses and conferences including; the NC New Instructor Seminar, National Association of Realtors annual conference, REEA (Real Estate Educators Association, local and regional division), NSA (National Speaker Association), and she maintains her Instructors license by attending a full day conference biennially in SC and annually in NC.

Jennifer’s goal is to be an effective instructor by making sure her students are engaged with the content being taught. Her teaching philosophy is centered around the idea that people learn best when they are actively involved in the learning process. This belief guides her through each lesson plan she creates for Pinnacle Real Estate Academy.

Jennifer currently serves on numerous committee’s and boards; Sea Haven (non-profit organization for homeless youth), Co-Chair of RPAC (Realtor Political Action Committee), CCAR Legislative Committee, YPN Local (Young Professional Network committee of CCAR), SC YPN (SC State Young Professionals Network Presidential Advisory Council), President of the Grand Strand Women’s Council of Realtors and was the recipient of the 2022 Realtor Image Award.

In addition to her real estate career, Jennifer is a co-host on the TV show, Getting Real With Real Estate. Every November, she heads up volunteers to provide Thanksgiving meals for families in need at the Boys and Girls Club. Every October she volunteers for Special Needs Family Fun Day for people with disabilities. And every August she heads up the School Supply Drive to supply over 300 children in need with all of their school supplies. In her spare time she invests in real estate, property management and loves to scuba dive and travel all over the world.

John Collier

John Collier arrived in Myrtle Beach SC in 2012 after retiring from a law
enforcement career in Northern Virginia that spanned over 36 years.
John was also adjunct faculty for National Louis University, and,
and George Mason University. He was in leadership positions
for developing such programs and the national AMBER Alert system,
Critical Incident Stress Management for public safety
officers, and vast committee work on the sex offender registry law
that became known as Megan’s Law.

John attended Pinnacle Real Estate Academy in late 2012 and
was licensed as a salesman in early 2013. He has since become
a Broker Associate in South Carolina and soon in North Carolina.
He has joined the team of professional instructors at Pinnacle to
provide the high quality of instruction that is their standard.

Ben Lee

Ben Lee is a professional Real Estate Agent in North
Myrtle Beach, SC. Ben received his Real Estate license
in 2014 and moved to North Myrtle Beach shortly after
to start his career as a Realtor. Prior to getting into the
industry he owned and operated Ben Lee Construction
from 2003-2008.

Ben is a volunteer extraordinaire. He has volunteered
with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Special
Olympics, and the Humane Society. Ben was also an
assistant golf coach between 2009-2013 and a
volunteer basketball coach between 2015-2018. When
he’s not volunteering or coaching sports, he enjoys
fishing and playing sports himself.

Melissa Urso

Melissa Urso, moved to Myrtle Beach with her family in 2007. She is
fluent in both English and Italian, which she has taught at the High
School and College level for over 20 years. In addition to teaching
languages, Melissa has traveled extensively throughout the world
and enjoys experiencing other cultures firsthand.

Melissa’s passion for Real Estate began in 2008 when she became a
licensed agent. Melissa has always been interested in the world of
real estate and knew that it was where her future would be. In
2017, Melissa obtained her Broker-In-Charge license with Pinnacle
Real Estate Academy. Her dedication to her clients’ needs combined
with her knowledge of the market make it easy for clients to buy and
sell their home quickly. Melissa is grateful for all the opportunities
that have come her way throughout the years-from being a Florida
licensed agent. South Carolina licensed agent and now most
recently a North Carolina licensed agent.