Dave was born in London, where he lived until moving to San Francisco at the age of nine years old. He attended Sonoma State University, graduating with degrees in Psychology and English. Dave was on his way to law school when he decided to stay a little longer in Sebastopol, CA to improve his carpentry skills. Read More
Dave is a Certified Green Builder, and over the decades has become an expert in solar and sustainable building, historical renovation and infill real estate development. He’s dedicated to alternative building approaches, and his passion for building and remodeling homes that are beautiful and functional – and which integrate sustainable principals with new technologies – has informed his company vision and the development of his Design Build approach to all projects.
Dave has been an instructor of the remodeling process to homeowners and contractors (Santa Rosa Junior College), and frequently contributes Design Build and construction articles to industry publications. Dave and the LEFF team hold remodeling workshops for homeowners at the new LEFF Design Center several times a year. He serves on the Board of Directors and heads up the Green Building Committee of the North Coast Builders Exchange and participates as a speaker or panelist in conferences and events about sustainable building practices.
Lisa was born in Southern California and has been working her way up the coast. She’s spent the most recent half of her life in Sonoma County. As Director of Operations, Lisa coordinates across departments to ensure the company’s smooth operation. As Chief Financial Officer, she manages finance and administration including LEFF’s financial statements and the company’s annual budget. Read More
Lisa has a bachelor’s degree in Business Management with an emphasis in Accounting from Sonoma State University. She started for LEFF as part-time controller in 2001, Lisa has over 25 years of experience in management, accounting and construction. She started in management at her first job in a record company and has experience in a wide variety of industries including independent software consultant and accountant and in the general engineering, entertainment, and medical fields. Most weekends and evenings Lisa spends time with her husband, their carefree smooth collie and some amusing cats. You’ll also catch her attending music events, reading and playing electric bass.
Morgan was born and raised in Sonoma County. After moving out of state to pursue a degree in Journalism from Gonzaga University, she returned to Sonoma County and landed in a career in commercial construction management for several years before making her way to LEFF. In July 2021 Morgan was promoted to Acting Production Manager after almost three years as a project manager. She coordinates all work to be performed by the superintendents and construction crew, and partners closely with the Design Department to ensure that projects are completed on schedule and on budget and the clients receive an exceptional product. She loves the exciting nature of construction and the creative problem-solving that design/build entails. She is passionate about delivering a great experience to her clients through stellar communication and organization. Read More
Candice is a Sonoma County native. As a Senior Designer, she helps to lead the LEFF Design Team. Candice focuses on all aspects of the Design Build process to keep a strong emphasis on space planning relative to interior design and architecture. Read More
Most weekends you will find Candice spending time with her family, hiking, racing at OCR events, and shopping for anything beautifully designed.
John brings the unique approach of seeing each structure from the view of the builder while designing with architectural vision. John grew up internationally and throughout the United States before landing in Monterey, California. This is where he began his 30+ years of experience in the architectural and construction industry. Working with a high-end residential building company in the Monterey/Carmel area, he spent more than a decade learning the anatomy of a residential construction from the foundation to the finish work; before directing his attention to architecture. Read More
While pursuing his architects’ license John had the opportunity to work with and study under award-winning architects in both Santa Barbara and Sausalito prior to establishing his own firm. After earning his Architect’s license in 2008 John led a small, dynamic architecture practice for ten years before relocating Sebastopol and joining LEFF Construction.
John is an avid rock climber and escapes home to the mountains at every opportunity!
As the Architectural Coordinator at Leff, Tim is the liaison between our in-house design team and project consultants. He reconciles all design input to ensure construction documents are complete and ready for our production team to build the project.Tim was born and raised in the Midwest then spent several years in the State of Washington before landing in Arizona, where he studied Architecture, design and drafting.Read More
Heather hails from the San Francisco Peninsula. She holds degrees in Psychology from USC and Interior Design from Canada College. She worked in residential design and project management on the Peninsula for 10 years before moving to Sonoma County in 2013. As an Interior Designer with Leff Construction, Heather coordinates the design process—guiding and keeping track of all the details as clients’ designs are refined and their finishes selected. Read More
Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Rae Patenes recently rejoined the LEFF Design Team. Rae is a graduate of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco with a Masters in Fine Art (MFA) and an emphasis in interior architecture and design. Prior to joining Leff, Rae was an environmental compliance coordinator overseeing state and federal regulations for more than 500 farms located in a five-state region. Her commitment to the environment and sustainable design fits in well with her role on the Design Team. Read More
Denise joined the Leff team in December of 2013 as Bookkeeper and Contract Administrator and in 2016 was promoted to Assistant Controller with a wide range of duties in the accounting and production departments.
Denise grew up in Sebastopol, graduating from Analy High School and then Santa Rosa Junior College. After earning her degree in Bookkeeping, she went to work for her family’s construction company, quickly working her way up to office manager and beyond. Denise oversaw all company accounting, and handled special project management and estimating. Read More
In her nonworking hours Denise enjoys camping, spending time with her family and friends and hanging out with her chocolate lab Callie.
Pam has been active in many facets of the communication arts throughout her career. With a background in graphic design, she is a big fan of great design in all its forms – from print and decorative design to home and fashion design. Along with the visual arts, she also has a deep appreciation for skillful human to human communication.
Growing up on the coast of Southern California Pam fell in love with Northern California when she moved to the Bay Area in the ‘70s to attend the California College of the Arts. Read More
Elaine began her marketing career designing graphics, layout and copy for newspaper advertising and print publications, sales teams and small business entrepreneurs. Read More