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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 2014. 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.
Jim Beckner
Senior Advisor
(804) 833-3366 | jbeckner@eastwestc.com
Jim Beckner joined the team in 1988 and is now a Senior Vice President of East West Communities. He is a graduate of UCLA with a degree in Business Administration. Jim began his East West career in the Club division and was instrumental in the planning and operation of the numerous clubs in Virginia and Florida. In early 2004, he transitioned to the real estate side of operations and headed up Pinckney Retreat and City Walk developments in Beaufort South Carolina.