Eli Dwight

Principal

Eli founded Western Slope to remain true to his roots as a mindful builder and conservationist. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in conservation biology and forestry. After graduating he tracked mountain goats as a field biologist, guided hiking trips, and surveyed rural properties for a land trust before shifting his focus full time to building. Living in the hills of New England, Eli apprenticed with a master builder where he focused on traditional timber framing, developing his skills as a lead carpenter. After moving to California in early 2013, he worked as a carpenter and project manager on numerous projects, and soon founded his own company. As principal of Western Slope, Eli applies his extensive experience in construction, forestry, running a business, project management, and speaking Spanish.

In addition to his work at Western Slope, Eli loves an adventure. He always has something planned, whether it’s a weekend in Tahoe or a bike tour in Colombia. Be sure to ask him what trip he is planning the next time you talk to him on the phone.

Jebb Reid

Project Manager + Lead Carpenter

Jebb initially fell into the trades through necessity while living and working on a farm in Pennsylvania. In his mid-twenties, he started to get more serious about carpentry when he realized that he had a wealth of experience and it was the work he enjoyed doing the most. Framing new structures, building cabinets, working through the tricky details of roofs and stairs – Jebb enjoys most all aspects of building at Western Slope.

Jebb has two amazing kids and no shortage of hobbies (perhaps too many). On the weekends he is usually gardening, collecting and caring for unusual plants, or sculpting in different media, including wood, stone, and concrete.

Pete Calderwood

Project Manager + Lead Carpenter

Pete’s background in sculpture, design, and art led him to the building trades. He loves to see the crisp results of a long thought-out plan, and excels at organizing timelines and all of the detailed information required to see a project through construction. When Pete is out of the jobsite-office, he is usually surfing at Ocean Beach or working at his screen printing studio in Oakland.

Ehren Peake

Project Manager + Lead Carpenter

Ehren is a born and raised Oakland carpenter. He follows in the footsteps of his father, who was a union carpenter for more than 35 years. As a teenager, Ehren spent his summers alongside his father building their family’s home in the Oakland hills. After graduating from college, Ehren worked as a union carpenter in the Bay Area for nearly 15 years. He loves working at Western Slope, where he uses his depth of building experience to help local folks build their dreams.

On the weekends, Ehren can be found swinging hammers at his own home, hanging with his three kids, or playing football (some call it “soccer”). If you can’t find him in the winter, it’s probably because he’s sending it down the mountains in Tahoe, or hitting the slopes somewhere new.

Sophia Smidth

Project Manager + Lead Carpenter

Sophie comes from a background in design. She earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, through which she also studied furniture design in Denmark. Sophie is passionate about the entire design and construction process, because it requires comprehensive skills in communication and visualization, involves complex systems, and thoroughly indulges the generalist.

Outside of work – when she is done resting her weary bones and lamenting the amount of adult weekend life that is inevitably spent fixing broken stuff – Sophie crafts items that furnish her home and rides her bike in the hills with friends.

Ben Lacy

Project Manager + Lead Carpenter

Ben hails from upstate New York. After studying International Relations at SUNY Albany and spending more than a decade working as a cook, Ben found his way to building. As a foreman at the Berkeley-based landscape design-build company Terra Gardens, Ben oversaw more than 50 outdoor projects while honing his skills in masonry, earth work, and carpentry. Joining Western Slope in 2022, he quickly expanded his skills in framing, casework, and finish carpentry, in addition to taking the lead on various in-house landscape installations.

Off the jobsite, Ben focuses on his art practice. He is a member of the Jettison Creative artist cooperative in San Francisco, and works in many sculpture and print media, including reclaimed wood, pen and ink, and acrylic paints. Ben also regularly travels to South America to hike and visit family.

Nancy Quan

Business Management

Nancy is our behind the scenes business management wiz. She enjoys building sensible, accessible systems that keep projects organized. She is an all-purpose problem-solver and holds degrees in both business and engineering. Nancy is passionate about home renovations (another reason she’s with us at Western Slope), 80s rock music, and country-western dance.

Kat Canham

Admin Staff

Kat likes when numbers add up and cares deeply that everyone is paid on time (herself included). That is why she has always ended up running payroll wherever she has worked, whether that was in the service industry, agriculture, or her decade-plus as a massage therapist. Taking care of payroll and adjacent responsibilities over the years helped Kat develop a well-rounded set of bookkeeping and administrative skills.

When off the clock, Kat keeps busy caring for her children. She also loves music and art, and gathering with community to take it all in. Above all else, Kat enjoys dressing up in costume and hanging from aerial silks.