Our Team

For 50 years, scores of East West Communities’ managers have lived an average of 90% of their homeownership years in one of the company’s communities. In fact, three of our current managers spent their entire childhoods growing up in their own communities. One of those individuals has lived in all three of East West’s “Best in America” communities. We believe this is likely a world record….we’re going to check it out with Guinness! The present management team has over a 400 years ‘learning curve’ living in our East West developed communities. Living in the communities where they develop has been an invaluable experience that gives the team a competitive advantage enabling them to keep learning and honing their skills as they continue to aspire to build the ultimate community. Many senior members of the East West Communities management team boast the extraordinary benefit of working together for 30 years or more. Further, they share a common business philosophy, articulated in a set of guiding principles called “100 Secrets To Success.” Through five decades, these principles have stood the test of time and delivered both leadership and innovation for the East West Communities team.

Gary Fenchuk

President of East West Communities

(804) 523-4126 | garyf@eastwestc.com

President and Senior Partner of East West Communities since 1980. Prior to his presidency, he was Vice President of finance for East West Communities. Gary’s real estate career began in 1973 with the Sea Pines Company, where he last held the title of Vice President of Finance.

A native of San Francisco, he has an undergraduate degree from Michigan’s Alma College and an M.B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance. Gary is a 30 year member of ULI and has served as a Trustee. In addition, he has served as director or Trustee on a number of other organizations including: Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, Bank of Virginia, East West Partners Charitable Foundation and Alma College Board of Trustees. Also, he has authored a book titled “Timeless Wisdom”, which espouses an enlightened philosophy of life.

Roger Arrowsmith

President Florida Division

(904) 291-7200 | rogera@eastwestc.com

President of East West of Florida and Senior Partner, Roger is responsible for the development and operations of the highly successful Eagle Harbor community in Orange Park, the upscale Windsong community in Winter Park, Florida and the new communities of Eagle Landing and Rolling Hills in Clay County.

Mr. Arrowsmith began his career with East West in 1976 as a salesman at Brandermill in Richmond, Virginia. In each of the following 10 years, he received the Distinguished Achiever Award from the Association of Realtors for outstanding sales achievement. As a result of this success, he served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing prior to being named General Manager of the Brandermill development in 1990. In 1991, he moved to Florida to assume the role of Project Manager for Eagle Harbor.

Active in numerous local charities including MaliVai Washington Kids Foundation, J.P. Hall Children’s Foundation, Thrasher-Horne Center for the Arts, First Coast No More Homeless Pets, the American Cancer Society and the Safe Animal Shelter, Mr. Arrowsmith, also has served as Chairman of the Clay County Committee of 100. He is a member of the Clay County Chamber, Jacksonville Chamber’s Cornerstone, the Northeast Florida Builders Association and the Urban Land Institute.

A graduate of Bucknell University, Mr. Arrowsmith was named Developer of the Year in 1995 by the Sales and Marketing Council of the Northeast Florida Builders Association.

Kathy Holt Pearson

Chief Operating & Financial Officer

(804) 523-4114 | kpearson@eastwestc.com

Kathy Pearson is a Senior Partner and CFO and COO of East West Communities. She joined the finance department in 1979 and assumed her current duties of CFO in 1984. As CFO/COO, Kathy is integrally involved in all of East West’s Florida, Tidewater, and Richmond communities.

Prior to joining East West Partners, Kathy was a general audit and tax accountant for Ernst & Whinney’s office in Richmond. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Richmond School of Business, where she was member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honor fraternity. She received her Certified Public Accountant certificate in 1980. Kathy has served as president of the National Kidney Foundation of the Virginia’s and as a member of the Board of Directors of Millwood School. She also served as treasurer of the ULI Richmond District Council. She is currently serving on the Advisory Board of the Massey Cancer Center.

Branch P. Lawson

President Hampton Roads Division

(757) 638-9100 | blawson@eastwestc.com

Senior Partner with East West Communities of Virginia, Branch is also President of East West’s Hampton Roads division. Prior to joining The Brandermill Group in 1981 as Vice President of Operations, Branch was a CPA with the international firm of Ernst & Whinney for six years.

In 1987, he headed East West’s efforts to acquire, rezone, and develop Gatling Pointe in Smithfield, Virginia-and in doing so launched East West’s Hampton Roads division. Since then, he and his outstanding Hampton Roads team have developed The Riverfront in Suffolk, and Gatling Pointe South, Eagle Harbor, Founders Pointe, and Benn’s Grant – all in Isle of Wight County. The Hampton Roads team is also in the process of beginning development in the new South Harbor community adjacent to Eagle Harbor. This will be East West’s first venture in the 55+ age restricted market. Branch has served on numerous civic and professional boards, most recently on the Suffolk Economic Development Authority and the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, where he served as Chair for 4 years. Currently, he serves on the board of directors for TowneBank and An Achievable Dream Academy, as well as on the board of advisors for the Luter College of Business & Leadership at Christopher Newport University in Newport News. Branch earned a B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce.

Daniel Jones

President Richmond Division

(804) 523-4170 | djones@eastwestc.com

Senior Partner of East West Communities, Daniel joined the East West in 2005 and has since been promoted to the Richmond Division President. Mr. Jones received his Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Philosophy from the University of Richmond, and his MBA from Solvay Brussels School of Economics & Management in Belgium.

Connie M. Pollard

Senior Vice President of Marketing

(804) 523-4116 | cpollard@eastwestc.com

Connie Pollard began her career at East West Communities as the director of marketing for the Brandermill community in 1982 and is now the Senior Vice President of Marketing for the company’s developments in Virginia, Florida, and South Carolina.

Connie is a native of Hampton, Virginia, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a six-time recipient of Marketing Director of the Year from both the Home Builders Association of Richmond and the Peninsula Housing and Builders Association and has won numerous awards from the National Association of Home Builders including Best Community In America for the Hallsley community in Richmond, VA.

Aaron Millikin

Senior Vice President of Development

(757) 638-9100 | aaronm@eastwestc.com

Aaron Millikin began his career with East West Communities in 1993 serving as the Director of Golf and General Manager of Club Operations at the master-planned community, Eagle Harbor, in Orange Park, Florida. In 2001, he joined the Hampton Roads team of the company as a project manager for the division’s various communities.

Aaron received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Montana State University in 1987 and began a fourteen year career as a PGA Golf Professional before venturing into master planned community development. He served on the Board of Directors for the local homebuilder’s association for fifteen years including a tenure as President. Aaron currently resides in Founders Pointe, an East West community located in Carrollton, Virginia.

Keith Jones

Senior Vice President of Sales

(904) 509-6068 | kjones@eastwestrealty.com

Keith can be what’s called a “career East West Partners lifer”. Shortly after graduating from Rollins College, he joined the company and immediately got an education into the lifeblood of what East West communities are all about, Club Operations. After 2 years he was asked to share that knowledge with future homeowners and got involved on the sales end. Twenty plus years later, while still mainly focused on residential sales, he has been involved in all aspects of community design, development, and marketing. Proudly married to Annie and raising daughter Charlie and son Brody in Eagle Harbor (FL) has brought his East West experience full circle.

Dean G. Vincent, PE

Senior Vice President of Engineering

(757) 630-8869 | dvincent@eastwestc.com

Dean joined East West Communities in 2004 and manages the design, permitting, construction, and acceptance of all community improvements in the Florida, Richmond, and Hampton Roads’ divisions. Prior to joining East West, Dean was a design consultant for two firms for over 20 years. First, Engineering Services, Inc. in Virginia Beach, as a Project Manager, and then another ten years as the Senior Practice Builder for Land Development and a share-holder with Kimley Horn and Associates. Prior to becoming a consultant in 1984, Dean was a Civil Engineer for the Chesapeake Public Works Department. Dean graduated from NC State University in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.

Linda Prior, CPA

Senior Vice President of Finance

(804) 523-4128 | lprior@eastwestc.com

Linda joined East West in 1996. Originally from Delaware, Linda has a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and a Bachelors of Science in Accounting from the University of Delaware. Linda received a Masters in Accounting from Widener in 1997.

Eric Wirt

Senior Vice President of Technology

(804) 523-4112 | ewirt@eastwestc.com

Eric Wirt joined East West in 1999. Eric received his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Finance from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is currently a licensed Real Estate Broker in the state of Virginia, and holds a private pilot license. He grew up in the East West community of Brandermill and currently resides in Chesterfield.

Jason Fenchuk

Senior Vice President of Development

(804) 523-4146 | jfenchuk@eastwestc.com

Jason Fenchuk joined East West in 2012. He graduated from Tulane University in 2002 with a double major in Finance and Marketing. He then got his MBA with a concentration in Real Estate from North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2012. Jason grew up in East West communities of Brandermill and Woodlake and currently resides in Henrico County.

Mark Smith

Senior Vice President of Development

(804) 347-0712 | msmith@eastwestc.com

Mark Smith joined the East West Communities team in March of 2019 as Senior Vice President of land acquisition, bringing with him 29 years in the industry. Mark graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and then continued on to University of Richmond, where he received his MBA. He is originally from Boca Raton, Florida and has lived in Midlothian since 1992.

Marilyn Ayers

Vice President & Broker

904-291-7200 | mayers@eastwestc.com

Born and raised in Plant City, Florida, Marilyn has been a vital part of the East West Team since 1993. She originally moved to Jacksonville, Florida in 1984 as a commercial real estate associate and land research analyst for the commercial real estate and planning division of Reynolds, Smith and Hills. After which, she joined First Union Bank as a real estate loan analyst for their commercial real estate brokerage and banking division.

Marilyn began her East West Partners career as the residential and commercial architectural review coordinator for our very first Florida project, Eagle Harbor at Fleming Island. In 2003, she was promoted to Vice President of the Florida division, increasing her responsibilities on the project development side as well as her involvement with county and governmental regulatory agencies. In 2005, ground was broken for Eagle Landing, Eagle Harbor’s sister community in northeastern Florida where she secured her Florida Community Association Managers license and is currently the licensed Real Estate Broker for East West Realty in Eagle Landing. During her 28 years with East West, she has served as a member of five HOA (Homeowners’ Association) boards and three CDD (Community Development District) boards playing an integral part in the development and success of all our Florida communities.

Eric Lawman

Vice President of Technology

(804) 523-4110 | elawman@eastwestc.com

Eric Lawman, who joined East West in January of 2000, is the Vice President of Technology with East West Communities. Eric received his Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Longwood in 1998. Born and raised in Powhatan, Virgina, he now resides in Midlothian with his wife, Trish, and two teenage children, Ayden and Hailey.

Katy Straebel

Vice President of Marketing

804-382-9899 | katyp@eastwestc.com

Katy Straebel joined East West in 2013. Katy received her Bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Virginia Tech in 2009, and is currently a licensed Realtor in the state of Virginia. Katy helps to plan and orchestrate the marketing for communities East West is currently developing in Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida. She was born and raised in the East West communities of Brandermill and Woodlake, and, currently resides in Hallsley.

Jos Biviano

Director of Planning and Design

804-523-4144 | jbiviano@eastwestc.com

Jos heads up our Planning and Design Section. He has 30-plus years of experience in Architectural Design with diverse building types, New Urbanism Town Planning, and Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND). Jos has lived and traveled extensively throughout the world. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Virginia Military Institute; then Arizona State University for Architecture and Environmental Design and finally his Master of Architecture degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Jos’s thoughts on architecture and town planning have been published widely throughout the United States.

Franny Simpson Powell

Senior Advisor

(804) 523-4140 | fpowell@eastwestc.com

Franny Powell began her marketing career at Sea Pines Company on Hilton Head Island in 1973. She moved to Richmond, when the company began developing Brandermill, which was ultimately named “Best Planned Community in America.” She continued to work on East West Communities’ award-winning projects in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

H. Clem Carlisle, III

Senior Advisor

(804) 523-4122 | clemc@eastwestc.com

Senior Central Virginia Division President and Partner in East West Communities of Virginia, Clem joined the East West team in 1975 as a sales associate with The Brandermill Group. He quickly established himself as a top performer. During the late 1970s, Clem received five Distinguished Achiever Awards from the Richmond Board of REALTORS and a Distinguished Sales Award from the Richmond Sales and Marketing Executives Club.

Christine Badura

Senior Advisor

(804) 523-4140 |cbadura@eastwestc.com

Christine Badura began her career with East West Communities in 1987 and was promoted to Senior Vice President of Finance in 1994 overseeing the finance functions in all of East West’s communities on the east coast. Prior to joining East West Communities, Chris worked with the Ernst & Whinney in Richmond in the audit division and received her CPA license after receiving a Bachelors Business degree in Accounting from James Madison University. Chris has served on numerous educational, charitable and philantrophic boards and positions and is a passionate community volunteer.