Staff at Western Slope come from many backgrounds. Some arrived in the building trades after studying fine art or conservation biology, while others are carrying on a family legacy of craftsmanship. Regardless of where they come from, our talented staff stay with us for our fair pay and benefits, commitment to developing talent, enduring camaraderie, and the fulfilling nature of our trade. Outside of work, the team dives into their many passions, from gardening and surfing to making art and raising a family. As much as we are builders at Western Slope, we are also creators, adventurers, and enthusiasts.
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.
Head Project Manager
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Western Slope is a construction company and a socially responsible community. Our commitment to strong relationships extends beyond our clients to include the well-being of our team members. All of our carpenters and staff have stable, meaningful careers. Turnover at Western Slope is notably low, in part because we invest in professional growth, provide high-quality employee compensation packages, and follow a four-day workweek to prevent burnout and increase efficiency. The result of all of this is a thriving team of builders who genuinely care about your project, knowing that we genuinely care about them.
Relationships are at the heart of any successful build. Our top goal for every project is that our clients are excited about the final result and that they hopefully enjoyed the process along the way. Fostering an environment of open communication and collaboration is critical to this end, as is our commitment to the highest standards of craftsmanship and technical integrity. Our network of referral-based clientele serves as testament to the enduring satisfaction of countless Western Slope clients.
The success of our business is inextricably tied to our values at Western Slope. As a socially responsible and profitable company, we take on projects that reflect our commitment to craftsmanship, our community, and the environment. Competitive pricing for our services is maintained through rigorous efficiency, careful execution, and diligent budget management. We embrace innovation and new ideas, while staying true to traditional craftsmanship. When we grow as a company, we do so with intent. This means we approach growth much like our projects: when we build, we build well, with artistry, and to last.
Quality craftsmanship is evident in all of our work. We believe that every project we touch should be enduring, beautiful, and impeccably built . Our lead carpenters maintain Western Slope’s high standards with skill, professionalism, and a commitment to artistry, while mentoring all craftspeople on our team. We are always evolving, learning new methods and fine-tuning our process. For us, building is more than a means to an end; it is a continuous practice in honing a career-spanning craft.
Sustainability and applied building science are foundational to the way we work. Western Slope, a certified green building professional organization, researched and practiced sustainable building from its start. Not being newcomers to the green building scene, we have an earned experiential knowledge about both modern building science and green building practices. As we build, we prioritize building science factors such as energy efficiency, indoor air quality, wildfire hardening, and exterior weatherproofing.
Current code updates require extensive green building elements that many contractors in California are still unfamiliar with. Having installed numerous systems on dozens of projects, we can speak with you at length about home electrification, photovoltaic (solar) arrays, gray water treatment, hydronic radiant heating, heat pumps, rainwater catchment, battery backup, smart electrical panels, air filtration, green roofs, sound dampening, dark sky lighting, integrated landscaping, and all aspects of sustainable and responsible site development. Your final result is an efficient, enduring home built in an environmentally conscious manner.
We hold construction and its practitioners in the highest esteem at Western Slope. That respect necessarily extends to the work of architects and designers. In our experience, successful construction projects integrate the knowledge of builders as the plans are being drafted, while the insights of architects continue to inform the project from foundation to finished structure. Extensive collaboration throughout the design process helps ensure that the architectural design and project scope align with the realities of construction and the budget.
Homes are more than perfectly staged photos – they are havens to live in. Creating a beautiful and functional home that meets a realistic budget and timeline is best achieved when architectural and construction elements are balanced. We pursue a robust collaborative process with our clients to ensure we stay true to their vision. The homes we build are thoughtfully designed, impeccably built, and tailored to our clients’ lifestyles and budgets.
CALL
510.210.3976