Our People

Mike's the head of the timber frame shop. In addition to his feline sense of balance (he'll be the guy walking nonchalantly along the ridge beam on raising day), Mike has an uncanny ability to think in 3D & can come up with a solution before anyone else has an inkling that there's a problem. Mike built the home he shares with his wife & children and when free of family obligations, can be found at one end of a fishing pole in the summer and attached to a bowstring during October.

As well as being a long-serving timber framer, Marc comes from a long line of master masons. He has the patience that comes with having a grown up daughter, two young children and grandchildren.

Mike's love of things old school and quirky is a thread that runs through his day to day life. From his choice of tools to his vehicles — his car has its engine backwards he's got a kick starter & points on the bike — he's not afraid to take a stand against the vagaries of fashion.

The only member of the shop with a log-home building background and a Mr. Clean hairdo. Jake's steady hand, and carving skill is the force behind all of our timber engravings. He's also a pro at found form and putting the finishing touches on our mortise and tenon joints. When he's not swooning over his wife and daughter, he and his dog Stewie often find themselves at the dry end of a fishing pole.

Paul came to the timber frame shop by way of our construction group and is now all grown up with lovely wife Jolene, three young boys (all under the age of 4!), and a 19th century timber frame farmhouse that he's whipped into shape for them
all to nest in.

Tim recently finished his own timber frame home just down the road from the site of our tree house workshop. Tim and his wife,  Karen spend most of their time enjoying their two boys, but when time allows, he's back to work on his kayaks.

Andy's a bit of an enigma - a quiet guy with a tough work ethic. This may be part of his personality or it just may be the Alfred post-collegiate haze. Either way, his composed nature makes him a great hunter — which is what occupies most of his fall weekend mornings.

Will has always had a love of furniture and has refinished a good number of pieces on his own (cherry is his preferred medium). His love of wood led him to us. When he's not working on timbers and frames, you can find him on his snowboard shredding or kickin' it on the soccer field.

Justin was an independent contractor before he joined the timber frame shop in McMinnville and he's one of those well-rounded individuals who can run a track hoe and install trim on the same day. He comes from a family of cowboys and if you put a rope in his hand, he'll have you hog tied in blink of an eye. He and wife Heather are currently renovating a home in the Willamette Valley where their young son and daughter are growing up fast.

Hobart worked for a long time as a cabinet maker in California before returning to his roots in Oregon. Because timber framing can be regarded as 'furniture on a grand scale,' his talents are right at home in our shop during the week, or his on weekends. If he does manage to tear himself away from making sawdust, he can be usually be found on a mountain bike in the hills.

After living in both California and Texas, Corey saw the delights of Oregon and decided to make it his home. A previous career as a graphic designer and copywriter was shelved in favor of of the craft and challenge of timber framing. He lives in north Portland, where he's in easy reach of the some of the best hiking trails the Northwest has to offer.

Joining us after attending Cornell & years specializing in ecclesiastical architecture at a Rochester architectural firm - Ty made himself at home in the loft next to our engineers. He & wife Kellie are parents of young boys Seth & Elijah. A few other things about Ty - he's dedication to the NY Giants, he has a love for cycling & keeps a busy social schedule with his family [who also happen to be his neighbors.]

Another RIT graduate - Eric went straight from school to being a mechanical engineer for an aerospace company and then to his desk upstairs. He's been trying out his wings as husband since he & Heather married - and now she tries to catch him as he dashes down a snowy mountain on his skis or down a muddy incline on his mountain bike.

When in his creative mode this VIP is head of the architectural team. We send Jonathan to meet with clients who are in the designing stages of their dream home process because his acute sense of room transition and home design panache are matched only by his subtle wit and crazy reading glasses.

Jonathan keeps a personal blog about his journey. Check it out.

When not hacking divots out of the fairway, Mike is responsible for designing and estimating timber frames. His background is in the aeronautical field, designing aircraft for Boeing, but he prefers wood to aluminum. Other hobbies include coaching soccer and woodworking on both a large and small scale - he recently fabricated the timber frame trusses for a porch.

John surfaced from years designing trade show booths and now he's part of our architecture department. A sculptor at heart, John spends a great deal of his free time in the art world exhibiting his work in regional & national shows. And then there are the times when he's simply away from it all - just him & wife Jamelle, daughters Alison & Heather, their dog Luca and his kayak.

Maxine is our west coast interior designer and chooser of color, texture, shape and form. Although you can sometimes find her in clients' projects or scouting Portland, OR showrooms, you'll have better luck tracking her down if you first look for her son Jake. Maxine will be the woman about four paces behind him with arms outstretched.

Tanya spent her formative years in Bismarck, ND., so Rochester seems like the Caribbean in comparison. She splits her time at NEW between interior & architectural design which is a pretty good fit, seeing as how her academic work focused on the interplay between human consciousness and architecture. She enjoys Scrabble, exploring the culinary traditions of India, running & keeping in touch with her five siblings.

Mike left our design-loft a few years back for the sugary forests of Vermont to act as our New England Representative. The move's been refreshing and he’s found a whole new set of challenging hills for his long distance cycling habit. He & Jen manage to squeeze in a bit of personal travel once in a while but they're starting to settle now that they have daughter, Ava. We expect she'll soon learn the finer points of trail running & snowshoeing.

Call or email Mike directly: 802-310-3546

Dave's been with us for a few years now and he was accepted easily by the timber framers as he rides a motorcycle & a '68 ford pickup. He and Jen were married in a museum, (no kidding!), he's working on fixing up their house and adjusting to parenthood with new baby boy, Carter. An RIT grad, he comes from a family of farming engineers and he swapped designing tractor trailers for timber frames.

A native of Fairport, Don returned ‘home’ (well, to Pittsford) to become facility planner for the Rochester School District and to work with the Monroe County Dept of Planning and Economic Development after a handful of years consulting in Maine and Vermont for private residences. There is no questioning that his BA in Landscape Architecture has proven useful. Joining the NEW team, Don’s experience will come into play with the Finger Lakes Museum Project among others. With Jenn, Hayden, Hannah and the twins he is a busy man but can still occasionally be seen out on the water enjoying a good head wind.

The newest addition to engineering, Dave brings his smile and enthusiasm to every project. A native of Syracuse with degrees from both SUNY ESF and SU, we’re working hard to make him love his new home city of Rochester. Between skiing, golfing, kayaking, competitive rifle shooting and brewing beer, Dave spends time with his girlfriend - now fiancé - Molly. We know he’ll be making room for 2010 wedding planning!

Michael Hahn works in our design department out west, laboring away to draw 3D images of timber frames, volume structures of homes and even rain water harvesting systems including the one at The Vermont Street project. He’s a graduate of the University of Oregon’s architectural program and has worked with some of Portland’s premium names in architecture. He’s also willing to jump in on whatever needs to get done around here including mixing plaster, carrying concrete blocks and delivering flooring.

Rob's the leader of the NEWwoodworks crew and has been with us for 15 years. [Ask him about the tiny office he used to share with PMW's Michele when we were first starting out in Shortsville. Oh, those were the days!] When his wife Stephanie can pry him away from the new cabinetry shop, you'll find Rob, Stephanie, and their daredevil son hanging out in the woods of Ithaca and the shores of Cayuga Lake.

Master of the ski slopes - on a crisp winter day he's riding the snowy white hills of Colorado...if not for real then in his day dreams. Mark use to belong to the life-of-the-law but this former lawyer decided to find an easier-going life with us as a woodworker. And may we say we're happy he found us.

The NEWwoodworks bunch acquired Rick from the New Energy Works engineering group because they needed a Sensei who would teach them the finer art of beard-growing. In his free-time from the facial hair conversations Rick's part of the team that designs & drafts the bespoke cabinetry & other bits of the woodworking shop. He's a vintage race car buff, summer resident of the Adirondack Mountains, and company Santa at Christmas.

Bill has the distinction of having employee #010, which makes him the 10th employee New Energy Works hired way back in 1986. Pretty darn cool. A fan of world music, literature and microbreweries, Bill spends his free time with his wife Charlotte, helping her run the Summerbeam bookstore and working on their house.

A quiet man of few words. In fact, this was about all we could muster Charlie to tell us about himself:

He has 29 years cabinet making experience, 3 children, and for a hobby he does woodturning. He volunteers as an ambulance EMT-CC & his cell phone plays Die Valkure.

With Desiree, his little girl at home, and having just gotten married Jay is busy being a parent and husband, which occupies most of his free time - but in the off chance he gets a respite, you can find him camping, hiking, and doing all of those other outdoors-y type things.

Jarrad comes to us from the University of Buffalo's Architecture school. He splits his time between the shop and office where he pushes a mouse around, designing all the stuff that is soon to take physical shape. On the weekends you'll find him tearing up the slopes, hanging out with his kids, and the guys keep telling me I need to ask him about Vegas. I'm going to let you draw your own conclusions.

Gediminas is a transplant to American from Lithuania. He, his wife and daughter continue to celebrate anniversaries here in the great USofA. Though he still has a daughter & other family back in Lithuania whom he misses very much - he believes he's here to stay. You'll find Gediminas and his family enjoying the outdoors during the weekends.

Good employees sometimes venture off to explore different opportunities, very often they come back. As is the case with Daniel, now on his second tour with NEWwoodworks. He and his wife, and two dogs make camping, hiking and skeet shooting high priorities. Though he's considering adding a mini-donkey to the clan possibly to compliment his hobby as a Republican propagandist. We can't help but wonder if it's because he couldn't find a mini-elephant?

A lifelong woodworker, Fred can remember standing on a chair to use his dad's lathe. At NWW he's been able to combine his love for woodworking with a love for homebuilding. Outside of the shop, Fred and his wife Linda tend a twenty acre woodlot saving a few boards and cutting a little firewood for fun. As Fred says, "A day spent in the woods is a great day!"

A native of Argentina, Enrique joined us with an interesting background in stair, chair, and other custom furniture making for large ships and yachts. Skills that not only come in handy at the shop, but in restoring his home. Though these days he and his wife spend most of their time with their latest addition, baby Joaquin.

Keith has been with New Energy Works longer than anyone can remember. He started out as a timber framer and quickly progressed to being a key member of the management team. You can currently find him in the Construction Group where he splits his time between client development work and estimating, along with site work and troubleshooting.

Keith married a fellow New Energy Worker. He and Susan couldn't make their minds up when it came to kids, so they had one of each.

We have a few staff members who swapped web gear for tool belts. Tad's one of them; an ex-Marine who currently supervises the construction of our clients' homes and puts his own unmistakable stamp of quality on every project he touches.

Tad and wife Caitlin are proud parents of three and when he can spare time away from being a devoted father, Tad is an avid outdoorsman.

Carpenter Tom likes his life in pairs. He and wife Sally have two boys and two girls. They’re loving pet owners of two dogs. When out of the house he’s camping & hunting - and when in the house he’s pairing beer and NASCAR. We give him two thumbs up.

Steve's one of those good-natured bundles of energy who are impossible to faze. He can be found supervising subcontractors on a GC project, swinging a hammer and enclosing a frame or just generally in the thick of things.

Sean's got this smile that's contagious. Skilled as a craftsman & beer drinker - when he's not adding finishing touches to our customer's homes, you'll likely find Sean on vacation with his wife Keli & 4 daughters, or watching football.

Chris is a transplant from Western Massachusetts and has been with us around two years. He's settled here with his wife Pam and their two boys. Most of his non-work time blends into his work life as he is remodeling his family's home. When he's not at the other end of a hammer, he's coaching his boys' baseball & soccer teams and playing in the mud on his dirt bike.

Stay tuned for more info on Bill!

Noah is a man of many trades often working from framing in to fine woodworking all in one day. In his spare time he can be found tinkering with his motorcycle or dabbling in vinyl signs and graphics.

Scott showed up when we first started in Oregon for his interview with a torn sweater and a ruffian’s demeanor. He almost didn’t get the job. But these last couple of years have shown us the value of scraping the tarnish off the surface to find a good hearted, hardworking, loyal carpenter and all around helper. We put him on a plane regularly to show up in different states – he’s always ready to jump into a new adventure.

Dave only sat still long enough for this photo. Once we catch him again, we'll share a snippit of his world.

Stay tuned for more info on Val!

Grande Fromage of both NEW and PMW, J.O. spends much of his time jetting around the globe in search of the next cool project, the best sources of timbers, the next big thing.

When he's not over-working, you'll find him tooling down the muddy inclines of Victor's single track or in the West, trolling up the Willamette River or speeding down Mt. Hood's glacier. On the home front, Jonathan enjoys the craziness of family life with adventurous & quizzical Jake River chasing after Dexter-the-dog, the occasional visit from an all-grown-up Sierra, and the ever-patient Maxine who manages to keep them all in health, in love and in line.

After a decade of heading up the engineering department and timber frame division, Brian is now the general manager for NEW. When he's not scheduling production, ordering timbers, designing frames, running into the shop, managing - you get the idea - he's chasing after his daughter Madeline and spending time with his wife Christy.

Iain joined us as a member of the timber frame shop before assuming his duties as marketing manager, and now he's leading our west coast timber frame team. Prior to being a hewer of wood, he futzed around as a guide & outfitter after a longish spell as an infantry officer. Things that push his buttons include general outdoor stuff such as whitewater canoeing and archery, as well as crashing insanely fast motorcycles. He's also managed to land a spot on the History Channel's new show, "Top Shot". Stay tuned...

Craig joined us in January '08, after a spell of freelance work. A man of many talents, he's at his best when immersed in the world of colors, shapes & typography, pulling together the elements of design to make our stuff look groovy. If you have any comments about this site, let him know. Outside of work, he's settling into his old RIT stomping grounds following his return from New Jersey. His roots in the upstate NY soil are about to get a little deeper, as he and wife Kathryn have just had their first child, a baby boy!

After a good gallop across the countryside on her horse, Megan can be found putting her creativity and multitasking abilities to work in the office. A stickler for making things happen accurately and on time, the only place she lets things slide is at home with her husband (that is when he's not working at nuclear plants around the globe). You might hear Megan's voice when you give us a call, but be warned, if you ask about her horse you're in for at least a half hour conversation.

Karen is our Finance Manager and although she tries to project the personality of a pit bull, once you get to know her she's actually all warm & fuzzy. Grandchildren, amateur dramatics, boating and her duties as a Rotarian round out her time when she's not in the finance office.

When Jennifer isn't honing her timber skills - you'll find her pouring over the latest industry trends, figures, campaigns and guerillas [advertising, not Primates]. Inspired by the curiosity of her three boys, her husband Will's rock star musings and the writings of Seth Godin, it's only on the crystal slopes of Hunt Hollow Ski Slopes that her body gets to catch up with the pace of her creativity.

As a jewelry artist - Beth knows that the perfect solution is all in the details which is what makes her impeccable in her role in the Finance Department. A busy mother of four teenagers - Beth and her husband Mark try to only raise their voices on the playing fields as they cheer each kid in soccer, football or lacrosse.

Pam spent a good part of her career working for the US Post Office. Among other skills she acquired there, she has an inate ability to make fast friends with dogs. Our office canines know the days Pam works, and have learned to b-line to her desk the minute she arrives, there they wait (impatiently) until the biscuit is handed over. Pam also volunteers at the local animal shelter, but saves her best doting for her nieces and nephews.

Mechanic and fixer of all-things-broken - Nick comes to the rescue of motors all around the shop & mill. He's part of the office motorcycle brigade - commuting from Palmyra on his Yamaha cruiser. As a true gear-head he comes home covered in mud after playing with which ever 4-wheeler or snowmobile he's currently restored to working order.

Dexter is a Brittany rescued by Maxine, Jake, and Jonathan. He's a big-hearted sort of a guy who doesn't have a mean bone in his body. Loved, and now missed by all in the NY shop since he took up his new assignment in Portland, OR at The Vermont Street Project.

Charlie is our official office greeter. Guests are met by a wet nose against their hands, his big brown eyes and constantly wagging tail. While visiting us in the office has to be one of Charlie's favorite things (who wouldn't like getting pet and treats from everyone!) he also loves chasing the tennis ball or Frisbee.