we exist to design beautiful experiences

we are continually building and renovating homes that are more efficient, more environmentally friendly, with more style, for less money. we whole heartedly believe that any property can be designed and built well at any budget.

we support the philosophy of living near where you work, of walkable and bikable neighborhoods, local and sustainable foods, rooftop gardens, and open spaces where people can gather and share a sense of community.

we also believe that, even in challenging economic times, home ownership is an important part of life, and we want to help make that possible. to this end, we work with advocates who can offer financing that fits a wide range of needs.

kevin stephens: ceo

kevin stephens has 17 years of experience in design and 24 years experience in construction, managing complex projects in the fields of real estate development, building design, landscape design, interior design, site planning,and urban design. he has the unique ability to integrate complex visions, developing and managing a streamlined process to actualize his client's vision. he has created a menu of affordable sustainable systems that can be combined to create close to zero net energy buildings. kevin is intimately involved with each step of the creation process; including evaluating financial feasibility of a project, developing plans and construction documents, value engineering, material selection, construction management, permits, approvals, and completion.

Kevin has worked on a variety of complex national and international projects. His experience ranges from the design of small scale residences to large scale urban master plans. Kevin’s portfolio of work includes residential estates, residential and commercial developments, urban plazas, streetscapes, golf courses, resorts, ecological mitigation, private vineyards, park systems, native habitat restoration, and public open spaces. His experience also includes elementary through university level campus planning, museum planning, religious campus planning, mass-transit planning, neighbourhood redevelopment, and urban mixed-use projects. Having spent 16 years in the field of design and development, Kevin has developed specialized knowledge in green building technologies and has demonstrated an interest in supporting public art and philanthropy in his projects.

ben parco: architecture / project management

with 20 years in the profession, ben has established himself as a leader in the field of architectural design.  he has acted as the chief designer on an unusually wide range of challenging project types ranging form high-rise office towers to performing arts theaters and five-star hotels.  located just west of forbidden city, ben master planned the $1.5b, 16-city block beijing finance street project and designed a number of its more important buildings.  benjamin has orchestrated a team of over 30 architects and engineers, delivering the 16 m square project to completion in less than six years.  this project was named the best planning project in business week's 2007 china awards.  in 2005 the knowledge and innovation community plaza project located in shanghai, for which ben was the lead designer, was exhibited at the museum of modern art in new york.  in early 2009 ben was asked by former vice president al gore to present a white paper at one of gore's cloistered climate solutions summits.  he was recently acknowledged in gore's new book, "our choice" for his contribution to gore's body of knowledge around the topic of low-carbon and carbon neutral buildings.

Alicia Dattner: Marketing / human resources

Alicia has 12 years of experience in marketing strategy, television, graphic and web design, and social media. She has brought several companies to the first page of Google Search by communicating the company's unique core offering to the right market with integrity and clarity. Her area of expertise is helping companies align their core message with the highest good of the customer. She brings a rich knowledge of holistic thinking, international travel, and a life-long passion for ecology to her position. Alicia's work has appeared on CNN, ABC, TechTV, G4, and CurrentTV. She graduated with High Honors from Hampshire College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Filmmaking, Multimedia Studies and Performance. By night, she is a critically acclaimed standup comic.

Heather Davis: Bookkeeper

Heather has a degree in English Literature from the University of Texas at Austin. Her first career began in small boutique bookstores as a book buyer and then graduated to editor at book publishing houses. After that she took a position at her favorite travel guide company, Lonely Planet, as a manager of digital travel content to other online travel companies. Heather's path to becoming a professional bookkeeper began in 2005, shortly after the birth of her first son. She obtained a position as a part-time assistant to a CPA in Corte Madera, California, working on client books as well as writing clients' SBA Loans & business plans. In 2006 she went out on her own, quickly securing a busy client list - primarily real estate businesses. Heather has enjoyed being the bookkeeper for KSDG since early 2007.

John Figueiredo: Property Management / Project Management

John is a KSDG project manager on multi-family urban infill projects with a concentration on sustainable design and head of property management services. Previously, he worked as a derivative trader for the Opes Cura Fund Management co-managing a $12 Million portfolio. John received his B.A. from the University of Oregon and is registered as both a real estate agent and holds a Series 65 license.

Katie Schroeder: On-Site Project Management

Katie brings two years of project management experience to the KSDG team, coupled with her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Environmental Sciences and Hospitality from Oklahoma State University. On a daily basis she helps coordinate subcontractors, property viewings, and meetings. She also maintains contact with existing tenants to ensure they are satisfied and assists in helping them resolve any concerns. In addition to managing multiple projects, Katie is also directly involved in the development of the new KSDG Tulsa office. While working toward becoming a LEED certified assistant, she has also mastered the art of creating adobe walls to increase energy efficiency for the Tulsa office.

Brian Schroeder: Landscape Construction

Brian Schroeder handles Landscape Construction for KSDG. Brian has worked in landscape design and construction for over 10 years. He played NCAA baseball at Northeastern State University before graduating from Oklahoma State University with a B.S. in Business Administration and Marketing.

Vy Pham: architecture / design

Vy is an architecture associate at KSDG, working on residential design and renovation. She has a passion for "green" building innovations and sustainable urban planning. In the past, she has worked on policy research for The Initiative for Global Development regarding strategic business investments in developing countries. She received her B.A. in Architecture and Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Tyler Evje: Project Management / Construction Budgeting

Tyler graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Urban Studies and Planning . Before joining KSDG, he completed transportation planning work for various transit agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area and also worked for a clean energy organization in San Francisco. He is passionately dedicated to reducing humanity's ecological footprint through the built environment.

Lisa Espinosa: Architecture / Design

Lisa is a graduate from University of California, Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture. She previously worked at Michael Willis Architects in San Francisco where she assisted the design director on San Francisco housing projects. Her passion for architecture and design stems from her love and skill for the arts which she has been practicing for over 15 years. Her artistic background has developed her creative design style and has contributed to her success with KSDG.

Aran Nafisi: Customer Relations / Property Management

Aran is a Marketing Associate at KSDG. He is responsible for managing client and investor relations while also providing property management for current KSDG projects. Previously, Aran has worked at the Peregrine Lending Company where he provided assistance in the completion of home loan transactions.

Aran earned his B.A. in Communications with a focus in Marketing from the University of California, Berkeley, where he also studied the Persian language of Farsi. Additionally, he was a scholar athlete and a member of the university’s three time National Championship Varsity rugby team. Aran currently holds a California Real Estate Salesperson license.

Jiselle Liu: project management / construction budgeting

Jiselle is a senior at the University of California, Berkeley, where she is pursuing a major in Political Economy and a minor in City & Regional Planning. Prior to KSDG, she worked at the nonprofit organizations, One Economy Corporation in San Francisco and Asian Immigrant Women Advocates in Oakland. She was also involved with the Pilipino American Alliance as well as other Pilipino and Asian Pacific American organizations at University of California, Berkeley. She is fluent in English, Mandarin, Hokkien and Tagalog.

Evette Gonzales: Architecture / Design

Evette is a senior at the University of California, Berkeley. Her major is American Studies with a concentration in Urban Structures and Cultures where she will be writing her thesis on the effect of people on the built environment using the courses in Architecture, City Planning, Sociology and Chicano Studies which she has taken. She has always had a passion for the built environment and urbanization. She is the recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship to study at University of California, Berkeley and will graduate with honors in her major.

Truman Mak: Sustainable Programming

Truman is the Sustainable System Program Developer for KSDG, his responsibilities include overseeing all sustainable technology research and implementation. Previously, he worked for University of California, San Diego's Housing Dining and Hospitality as an EcoNaut, where he help secured LEED Credits for various LEED Housing Projects, created economic feasibility analysis of various sustainability programs, and conducted Sustainability Training Workshops for staff and employees. Truman also worked at the U.S. House of Representatives, executing sustainability measures such as creating Green Leases for over 12,000 Congressional District Offices, sustainable renovation of historic buildings, and revamping the procurement and supply chain training programs. Truman is a LEED Green Associate holding a B.S. in Management Science and a Sustainable Business Practices Certificate from University of California San Diego.

Nate Hedges: Sales Policy

Nate manages and supports business development efforts and sales strategy for KSDG. His responsibilities include creating and managing partnerships, sales operations and implementation, and special projects. Previously, Nate was a consultant for ChoicePass, focused on managing partner relationships and sales. Prior to that, Nate was a marketing analyst at RentJuice, a venture-backed real estate technology company. Nate is an 11-year veteran of the United States Navy, working as a combat medic and deep sea diver with Naval Special Warfare on counter terrorism efforts.

Catherine Gauthier: Graphic Design

Catherine was born in France and began her career in the creative print advertising industry, working on promotional and marketing collateral. She moved to the United States in the mid-nineties and began developing interactive and multimedia applications.

Catherine's ability to conceptualize and define user-centric Graphical User Interface implementations that are accessible and aesthetically pleasing comes from her creative background. Her understanding of color and layout design as well as her strong visual composition skills help her design powerful print and digital marketing materials and produce high-quality graphics quickly and efficiently.

Catherine holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the Université Paris 8, as well as a degree in Computer Graphics from the Ecole d'Art in France. She strives to stay abreast of the newest technologies in the graphics, print, multimedia and web design fields by reading industry publications and networking with her peers.

Catherine is also an avid baker, and loves to whip up some delicate French madeleines or a batch of mean double chocolate chip cookies.

Tu “Tracy” Nguyen: Market Analysis

Tracy has joined the KSDG family as our Market Analyst, working to enumerate the economic benefits of implimenting green technology into the built environment. Prior to her interest in finance, Tracy has worked as a liaison for a import-export firm in her native Vietnam. In that role, she negotiated contracts for purchase of inventory in terms of quantities and prices. As a undergraduate at University of California, Berkeley, she led other teammates in a project to analyze the effect of trade barriers in contemporary world.

Tracy Holds a B.A in Economics from University of California at Berkeley. She's currently a candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program. She passed CFA levels 1 and 2 on the first attempts and she is taking CFA level 3 in June 2012.

Christine Chong: Blogging

Christine is a Marketing Associate at KSDG, managing the company blog. She is responsible for posting news stories, new environmental developments, and other sustainable information that reinforces the core of KSDG’s values. Christine is currently an undergraduate student at University of California, Berkeley and is double-majoring in Rhetoric and Legal Studies.

Alain Diaz: Graphic Design

Alain works as a graphic designer for the KSDG family. A Graphic Illustration MFA graduate of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, Alain also graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Studio Art from the University of Nebraska in Omaha. After completing his education, Alain has worked as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator, while also creating his independent graphic novel “Cry of the Coyote”. His illustrative and graphic design work has been featured during the 2011 AAU Spring Art Show, as well the 2005 & 2006 Bemus Center UNO Art Showings. Alain’s art can be found at www.amdiazart.com.

Aside from art, Alain is an avid fan of soccer, theater and travel.

Cindy Pearce: Administrative Support

Cindy is the administrative assistant for KSDG. Cindy has received a B.S. in Business Management from San Francisco State University. She also studied management at HAN Business School in the Netherlands from 2009-2010. While attending San Francisco State she worked with the Office of International Programs to mentor and prepare students for their studies abroad. Cindy occasionally likes to bring her family's homemade wine into the office to share. She and her family have been making wine since 2003 in Vacaville, CA under the label Tenacity Vineyards.

Jeff Li: financial analysis

Jeff works as a financial analyst for KSDG. He is currently a third year business major at the Unviersity of California, Berkley with a minor in city planning. A firm believer in sustainability and new generation clean tech, Jeff has past experiences in private banking & equity, healthcare advisory, and retail marketing. Aside from his professional & academic interests, Jeff also has a passion for fashion, technology, and sailing. Go Bears!

Diana Ferrusquia: Public Relations

Diana is the KSDG Networking and Outreach agent. She is a senior at San Francisco State University majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in management. She has a strong background in small business administration and is currently the owner of an online start-up at GownStock.com.

San Kim: Architecture / Design

San is a design associate for KSDG and currently pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. She is responsible for the design development of the firm’s projects with sustainability and zero-net energy components. She brings her experiences and knowledge in building process and environmental design to the firm. San is also actively involved in a national professional fraternity for architecture, Alpha Rho Chi, and continues to develop herself in gaining knowledge in the areas of city planning, landscape architecture and urban studies.

Tianyi "Bob" Wang: Architecture / Design

Tianyi is responsible for construction documents for urban multi-family housing projects for KSDG. He is currently a third year undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is double majoring in both Architecture and Economics, while also minoring in City and Regional Planning. Coming from Northeast China, he serves as president of Berkeley Chinese Students and Scholars Association. He also goes by Bob, which stands for "Bass Or Baritone" ‘cuz he loves to sing and he is in an acappella group on campus.

Tyler Colin: Financial Analysis

Tyler works as a financial analyst for KSDG. He is currently a third year interdisciplinary studies major at University of California, Berkeley with focuses on finance and public policy. He is interested in equity and investment banking and is currently pursuing a series 65 license. Tyler competes on the university’s Varsity rugby team where he has been part of back-to-back national championship seasons. In his spare time he enjoys alpine skiing and hiking.

silvia robertson: architecture / design

silvia grew up in colombia and came to the us in 2005. she transfered to the university of california in berkeley in 2009 and traveled to madrid, spain for an internship opportunity for the summer before she graduated with a b.a in architecture in august 2011. she holds knowledge pertaining to different topics related to architecture such as planning, sustainable design, and landscape design. she is very interested in communnity and sustainable design and the effects that these two can have on cityscapes and people's lifestyle.

gangming “leon” liang: investment analysis

leon was born in a small town called huazhou in canton, china, and his career is focused on finance industry, including fundamental analysis, technical analysis, corporate finance modeling, and risk analysis, . he moved to the united states in 2009 and continued developing his finance knowledge and skills.

leon holds a ms degree of finance with investment management concentration from golden gate university in san francisco, as well as a bachelor degree in food science and engineering from the henan university in china. leon also refine his skills during the preparation for the cfa i exam and the fame value security analysis competition. he performed an internship in hsbc china as a business banker during the summer of 2010, and he was the vp of chinese student association in golden gate university and the senior investment analyst of golden gate university investment group. at the beginning of 2012, leon began to form an international group called tgbd investment union for applying information technology to enhance finance activities in order to establish long- term development.

leon learned breaking dance in high school, nunchuku, and wing chun in college. he loves photography, photoshop, running, swimming, and traveling.

peter trang: urban planning

peter is originally from the los angeles area and is a transplant to san francisco. spending a majority of his life in an urban setting, he has found the passion to pursue developments and projects which are not only sustainable but regenerative and “living.”

peter holds a bachelor of science in environmental studies and a minor in urban planning from san francisco state university. he is an accredited LEED green associate from the u.s. green building council and has the intention of pursing other LEED specialties. he has previously completed the making+meaning program at southern california institute of architecture (sci-arc) and has a background in architecture and the design process prior to attending sfsu. he has a fascination with different culture and has knowledge of seven different languages, but is only fluent in ordering food.

jonathan li: civil engineering / structural engineering

jonathan was born and raised in the city of san Francisco, where he will graduate with a bachelors of science in civil engineering with emphasis in structural engineering from san francisco state university.

he has the ability to apply in-class knowledge to real life applications, work well in a team to achieve an overall goal, and think outside the box with creativity. he is active in several professional groups including engineering honoring society called tau beta pi. in spare time, jonathan enjoying shooting photos of the fabulous landscapes of san francisco.

yiqiu (charlie) li: financial analysis

yiqiu finished his bachelor’s degree in business in china and got his master’s degree in finance in golden gate university in san francisco. he also has microsoft office specialist certificate. he builds black-scholes and FCF models in his financial modeling and business valuation projects. yiqiu, is an individual trader, who uses Wyckoff method in his trading system and applies it in both the united states and chinese stock markets. yiqiu began his career in financial industry, working at everbright securities company as client manager. he was responsible for marketing activities identifying new clients, working with banks dealing with third-party deposits agreements, enhanced customer relationships and helped clients to solve difficulties in trading and investments.

loan dao: architecture / design

loan was born in orange county, ca. while studying architecture at orange coast college, loan was a member of phi theta kappa honors society. loan has participated in parking day in laguna beach, california, where she and her team turned a metered parking space into a mini park.

loan moved to san francisco to attend the university of san francisco, studying for her b.a. in architecture and community design and a minor in architectural engineering. she is a member of aia-sf where she assists in organizing the usf bay area architecture lecture series. she currently runs a blog displaying her interests in design, architecture, and food.

sonia-lynn abenojar: architecture /design

sonia-lynn was born and raised in seattle, wa and moved to san francisco to pursue her education in architecture at the university of san francisco. as a third year architecture and community design major, fine arts and architectural engineering minor, sonia-lynn focused her academic and artistic endeavors on community outreach projects in the bay area and real-world international design/build projects.

She spent this past summer, working on a bamboo design/build project in colombia which has helped build a global perspective of her social responsibility as an architect. while abroad, she cultivated a deeper passion for sustainable design, and building with local and renewable resources. sonia-lynn loves to go thrift shopping and snowboard when she is not saving the world through architecture.

sanny eriesty: accounting

sanny was born in indonesia and grew up there until she transferred to singapore in the middle of high school. after getting her high school diploma at the age of 16, she moved to the united states to pursue higher education. she holds an associate degree in liberal arts - business with a cis emphasis from de anza college. She is currently at san francisco state university getting a bachelor's degree in business administration with accounting concentration, and an internal auditing certificate.

sanny’s understanding about accounting is that it is not about playing with numbers, but giving reliable information and communicating it effectively. she has volunteered for many organizations and actively participates in an accounting professional organizations. she loves to play basketball with her fellow indonesian friends. her team participates in permias cup, a basketball tournament for indonesians in the bay area, every year and won the first place in the last two consecutive years.

lisa giordano: sustainable urban design

lisa giordano is originally from long island, new york. she moved to the bay area to study sustainable design at the university of california, berkeley. back in new york, she studied the visual arts at a community arts school, and occasionally sold her work at a nearby gallery. lisa has developed a sincere interest in sustainable practices. she has decided to combine her creative and artistic background with her desire to contribute to a more sustainable world through the study of sustainable urban design. at KSDG, she researches techniques for sustainable building practices.

gretchen korsmo: architecture / design

at the university of california in berkeley, gretchen focused her studies on sustainable design methods to make it affordable and available to the public. prior to joining the KSDG team, she has worked in the architectural design field at both the mayo clinic and TOA architectes associés. outside her work and studies, gretchen loves to travel and explore the bay area's natural attractions, both of which continue to fuel her passion for sustainability.

marisa kumtong: graphic design

marisa was born in a beach town in the suburbs of los angeles, carried out the first few years of her childhood in thailand, and returned to manhattan beach for the rest of her years until she moved to san francisco for college. she currently resides in downtown san francisco and is in her third year studying graphic design at the academy of art university. she's spent most of her life traveling back and forth from the states and thailand which paid off this past summer when she spent 3 months interning at an advertising agency in bangkok.

marisa's interests are in branding, print and poster making. she likes crafty, quirky things and prefers things handmade. she strives to learn something new everyday and hopes to soak everything in before graduating and going off into the real world. she craves the creative energy from the people around her and is constantly being inspired by the city of san francisco. her next stop is graduate school in los angeles or new york city and then if all goes well, hopefully getting her first job out of college overseas or in new york. her other interests are singing in her car, meditation, shopping and eating good food.

megan ring: architecture / design

megan is an architectural designer at KSDG, and is constantly seeking ways to improve building practices through innovation and systems refinement. megan graduated from uc berkeley with a BA in architecture and minor in sustainable design, and is naturally eager to improve her native bay area through building retrofits. while growing up here, megan has always been fascinated by the bay area’s lush resources and rich social diversity, and continues to be inspired to give back to her community. she is currently seeking to earn the lighting certification (lc), and LEED associate professional titles. in her free time, she enjoys hiking, swimming, running, and playing soccer.

peter tejada: architecture / design

peter is architectural designer at KSDG working on sustainable system design applications, he has extensive experience in building envelope design. peter is a graduate from the university of california berkeley with a degree in architecture and minor in design in developing countries. his passion for architecture stems from the relationship design shares with its active community and the effects they both play upon each other.

jacquelyn aiello: graphic design

jacqui is from union city california and is a student at the university of california, berkeley, where she is pursuing a major in architecture and minors in french, landscape architecture, and sustainable design. she is involved in global architecture brigades, the american institute of architecture students, danceworx, and the university of california rally committee at university of california, berkeley. jacqui is active in tap dancing and theater production.

aung kyaw thant: graphic design

aung is a graduate of san francisco state university with a bachelor of science in industrial design. he also studied graphic design and animation at city college of san francisco and san francisco state university. he loves to draw, paint and marker renderings. he enjoys traveling and photography.

amanda shih: public relations

amanda works in public relations at KSDG. branding and creating sounded social media channels are her priorities. she is working on her master's degree in integrated marketing communication with a public relations focus at golden gate university. amanda holds a bachelor's degree in international business from taiwan. while in her undergradate years, she was the spokesperson, social media girl and the drummer for her band. she branded and created buzz for her band during the band battle weeks. she also loves to study and analyze the speeches of public figures and to compare the differences between american and asian spokespersons. as a music lover, amanda loves to spend free time with jazz music, books and a cup of black coffee.

qi ming zeng: architecture

qi ming is currently a graduate student in earthquake engineering at the san francisco state university. he has finished advanced engineering classes including advanced steel structure design; fire structural design and advanced seismic design at san francsico state university. his research topic focuses on push-over analysis for steel structure.