Betsy Cornell is a lot of things to a lot of people. She’s a realtor, a mother, a friend, and a wife. She’s a force of nature—and in some ways, she’s a mystery. 

“Sometimes, other realtors can’t understand why I do so much of what I do,” Betsy said. “But whenever I’m not with my clients, I’ll go to every open house in the towns I sell in across the South Shore.”

Betsy prides herself on knowing the market cold. She explains “I feel it’s paramount to see the inventory firsthand. I make an effort to go to every open house in the towns I sell in across the South Shore, whether I have a specific client in mind or not.”  

Betsy’s penchant for excellence and diligence on the job has carried her through two impressive careers thus far. After graduating from Boston College with a Management Degree in Accounting and Marketing, and a Masters in Accounting, Betsy took her talents to PricewaterHouseCoopers (PWC), where she was an Audit Manager for four years. 

From PWC, she moved on to J.P. Morgan Chase, where she served as Executive Director and Audit Manager.

“A career in accounting offered a lot of responsibility and a lot of challenges,” Betsy said. “And the seasonal 100-hour work weeks taught me tremendous discipline.”

“Above all I enjoyed the client relationships. I thrived on meeting different clients to learn about their businesses and earn their trust. These skills have translated seamlessly to real estate. For me, it all comes down to offering exceptional client service via being professional, doing your research, and eliminating stress whenever possible”

Betsy and her husband Anthony were living a fast-paced life in New York City in 2017, when they welcomed their first child, Charlie. Things quickly changed when their newborn son was diagnosed with cancer at birth. After starting oncology treatments at NYC’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) life was put on. After 6 months of living in intensive care, and countless emergency surgeries Charlie was transferred to Boston Children’s Hospital to manage several life-threatening complications from his oncology treatments. As Charlie was preparing to be discharged after nearly a year and a half from intensive care, Betsy and her husband realized it was time to move back to New England. They moved seven times in 18 months, migrating to the South Shore after selling their homes in Brooklyn and in Montauk, New York, and eventually settling in Cohasset in early 2020. 

As Charlie's health started improving, Betsy was anxious to get back to work. But with Wall Street over 200 miles away she started exploring new options. “I had always been passionate about real estate. The importance of finding representing someone in the purchase or sale of their home was something she learned from her mom, Joy Cornell, who has been selling real estate on the South Shore for nearly 20 years. "I knew the timing was right to take the leap of faith.” Betsy started her real estate career in late 2019-early just as the covid-19 pandemic was starting and all the rules were off. For some, that might be overwhelming, but Betsy saw an opportunity.

“It was the perfect time to dive in and grab the bull by the horns,” she said. “I was so fortunate to have the unwavering support and guidance. I had an immediate bond with clients,” which is no surprise to anyone who’s ever spoken with Betsy. 

From there, she hit the ground running and made a name for herself on the South Shore real estate scene, hanging her license at Compass. 

Part of what makes Betsy such a compelling realtor is that she’s not really just your realtor—she’s your partner. She understands the quantitative piece of real estate, sure. But she also understands the emotional weight of a real estate transaction. 

“People will love a house for reasons you can’t possibly quantify with numbers,” she said. “You can read all the stats, but quantitative data never tells the full story.”

Betsy is there for her clients as a strategic financial advisor, and she’s right there with them through the emotional pieces of the process. You can find her calling cleaning services, meeting with the fire department, helping with staging because she’s interested in lightening the emotional burden. 

And when Betsy looks back on her son’s transfer to Boston Children’s, she’s effusively grateful for far more than the career switch it spurred. 

“At that point Charlie was so sick, other hospitals wouldn’t see him, Boston Children’s saved his life. They welcomed him in with open arms,” she said.

Even before Charlie was born, Betsy was involved with fundraising for Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer (where Charlie first started treatment). Today, she’s revived a Cohasset Golf Club tennis tournament to fundraise for Love4Kids, which is a nonprofit that benefits Boston Children’s Hospital. 

With just a few weeks to go (and tens of thousands of dollars pledged) before the next tournament-fundraiser, Betsy is ready to rally her community together around children’s healthcare.

“It’s just so amazing to bring people together and fundraise for the team that welcomed my son in and saved his life.”

If you’re interested in learning more, check out Love4Kids.info.