Meet The Team

Catherine Fillmore
Project Coordinator

Catherine brings to the Forward team years of experience in project coordination. She is passionate about home renovation and helps our homeowners actualize their ideal home. When not at her dream job, she makes pottery as a member of the Ann Arbor Potters Guild and spends time with her family and Border Collie, Figgy.

Chad Weiler
Project Coordinator

Chad guides our homeowners through the remodeling process- from the first phone call. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Lawrence Technological University.  In Chad’s free time he enjoys playing hockey, working on his home, and spending time with his wife.

Jef Forward
President & Creative Director

Jef brings a passion for the design and construction industry, and above all, helping our clients love their homes in the process! In his spare time, Jef enjoys spending time with the family, reading and tinkering with objects and technology.

Ashley Carsten
Project Designer

Ashley graduated from the University of Michigan in 2015 with a Bachelor's degree in Architecture.  She started at Forward assisting with marketing and design, and has grown into a talented leader in our design department. Ashley loves to play with her dog, Rue, and to paint in her free time.

Brandon White
Project Designer

Brandon attended Eastern Michigan University from 2015 to 2019. While in college, he spent four years as a barista. Brandon has always been intrigued by space planning, even as a kid. Outside of design, he has also always been interested in astronomy. In his free time Brandon loves to travel and makes it a point to visit a new destination every year.

Ashley Sattelberg
Project Designer

Ashley graduated from Central Michigan University in 2020 with a Bachelor's degree in interior design. She combines analytical skills and artistic talents to create functional and aesthetically pleasing homes. She has a keen eye for detail and ability to integrate individual elements into a cohesive whole. Her work reflects her commitment to exceeding client expectations and to fostering long term relationships. In her free time Ashley likes to spend time outdoors with family whether it’s golfing, camping, boating or snowmobiling.

Dakota Linkel
Project Designer

Dakota Graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a focus on Adaptive Reuse Architecture and Design. He is from the beautiful state of Maine. Dakota came to our team with 9 years of experience working in high-end residential architecture. He’s passionate about creating spaces for people that make their lives better. In his freetime, Dakota enjoys traveling to new places, hiking and kayaking with his dog Kosmo and partner Will.

Emilija Vilkaite
Design Support

Emilija graduated in 2022 with a dual bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Interior Architecture from Lawrence Technological University. She is passionate about helping the community, and even got the opportunity to work with a community architect in South Africa to create an Exhibition for the Zeitz Mocaa Museum in Cape Town in 2022. Outside of design, Emilija is an avid photographer and has shown her work in exhibitions worldwide. In her free time, Emilija loves to travel and spend time with her three dogs.

Mahlah Armstead
Design Support

Mahlah has always had a passion for art and architecture, which allowed her to pursue a career in design as a perfect balance of the two. She graduated from Michigan State University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design. Some hobbies she enjoys are painting and fitness, where she enjoys exercising outdoors in nature. In her free time you can find her spending time with friends, family and her baby boy.

Maya Mathew
Design Support

Maya gained her Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Architecture from Heidelberg, Germany. She worked as a licensed architect for 5 years in Germany, focusing on remodels, new custom homes, as well as commercial architecture. Maya moved to the United States in 2019 and joined the Forward Team in 2022. Outside of work she enjoys traveling, photography, cozy game nights + quality time with her family.

Mark Lofstrom
Production Manager

Mark has been involved with residential remodeling for over 26 years. He has done pretty much anything involved with building or remodeling a house. Ann Arbor has always been Mark’s favorite area to work in. This town provides a great place to create unique designs within a home to make it more functional. Mark loves being outdoors, spending time with his kids, taking his dog out hunting, doing small projects around the house and really enjoys cooking!

Andrew Satchwell
Design Manager

Andrew started working in the construction industry at 14 for a family owned masonry company. Later, his career led him to be a House Leader at Habitat for Humanity. Andrew has worn many hats at Forward including Carpenter, Lead Carpenter, and Project Manager. Outside of work he loves watching sports and spending time with family.

Tim Frincke
Project Manager

Tim grew up in Ann Arbor and studied at Washtenaw Community College. He has more than 15 years of experience in residential finish carpentry, remodeling, and building work. He had his own business for 6 years before he came to Forward in the fall of 2013. He enjoys woodworking, playing sports, and spending time with his wife and two children - Ella and Axel.

Ben Ranta
Project Manager

Ben's love of carpentry goes all the way back to when he was 10 and built a two story tree fort from old lumber and nails that his grandpa gave him. Ben is now a licensed builder and has a particular interest in green building practices. When not on the job site, Ben loves spending time at his cabin in the Upper Peninsula with his family.

Brian Schmidt
Project Manager

Brian is an artist and a carpenter.  He's probably best known for his concrete countertops and unique furniture pieces in wood, concrete, and metal. Brian brings many years of experience and an artist's touch to the Forward Design Build team!

Jimmy Huffman
Project Manager

Jimmy joined the Forward team in 2023 with over 20 years experience in residential construction. He received his builders license in 2020 and is currently working towards a Masters of Science degree in Construction Management from Eastern Michigan University. Before working in residential construction, Jimmy served in the Michigan Army National Guard for 9 years as a Military Police Officer.

Wally Schmid
Lead Carpenter

Wally joined the Forward team in the summer of 2021! He is a local 687 journeyman with 24 years experience in residential and commercial carpentry. He enjoys music, fishing, and spending time with family.

Mike Shinney
Carpenter

Mike has been in the trades since 2017. He started in the mill as a shop hand in Arizona after a number of years working in kitchens, serving and bartending. Eventually he made his way to Denver, Colorado where he worked for a framing company and a custom wood/metal work shop. Finally returning back to Michigan in the fall of 2019, where he has been working solely in residential remodels. Outside of work Mike enjoys camping, backpacking and rock climbing with his wife and two dogs!

Connor McMillan
Lead Carpenter

Connor has a passion for building and the details that come along with it. He began taking apart and fixing things at a young age. As he got older, it turned into fixing cars and motorcycles which helped him build a foundation of skills and knowledge. At 21 he entered into the trades and officially began his career in the construction industry. When Connor is not at work he enjoys playing hockey. Whatever time he has left goes to his project truck which is a 1985 Chevy K5 Blazer with the goal of restoring one day.

Makayla Collins
Laborer

Makayla joined Forward Design Build Remodel in the summer of 2023. Prior to working at Forward, Makayla attended the Michigan Career and Technical Institute Trade School for construction. Outside of work, Makayla enjoys painting and winter activities.

John Hoder
Lead Carpenter

John is a carpenter with a background in art and music. By nature he is very detail-oriented and always looking for new solutions to problems. John takes a great deal of satisfaction in collaborating with creative people to realize a common vision. In his free time John records and produces music, plays tennis and spends as much time as possible outdoors.

Ryan Beaber
Estimator

Ryan graduated from Penn State in Architecture in 2014 and started working here a year later in April as a carpenter. He enjoys building houses more than designing them! While he’s not building houses, he enjoys running and doing yoga.

Brian Konicek
Purchasing/Receiving

Brian’s professional background is primarily in managing teams and supply chain in the Grocery/Produce industry. He is excited for the career shift, and is happy to be a part of our great team at Forward. In his free time Brian enjoys writing and recording music from his home studio, playing pick up basketball, exploring Ann Arbor neighborhoods on walks with his wife and trying to brew the perfect cup of black coffee.

Jared Hill
Lead Carpenter

Jared joined the Forward team in 2022 with 9 years of remodeling experience. He has worked in almost all aspects of remodeling in his professional career. Jared loves working with his hands, a love that started in college while studying sculpture. He enjoys looking up new tools and watching videos to further enhance his construction knowledge. Jared and his fiancée Erika renovated their first home together and our now fixing up their second home. Outside of work he enjoys being outdoors, and spending time with Erika and their 3 dogs.

Colton Arnett
Carpenter

Colton’s experience in the field started at 14 years old, where he worked with his father who owned a painting company. For the first ten years of his career, Colton worked three jobs that included painting, roofing and installing hardwood floors. He then earned his Class B Commercial Drivers License, and drove professionally for a few years. For the past 3 years, Colton worked exclusively on kitchens and bathrooms prior to joining our team at Forward. Outside of work, Colton enjoys spending time with his two sons. He also enjoys going to the gym and playing basketball every Sunday in a men's league.

Jonah Stanevich
Carpenter

Jonah graduated from Community high school in June of 2020. He was in the Ann Arbor Student Building Industry program for two years, where he learned the basics of near everything that goes into making a house, with emphasis on framing.He has an interest in almost anything having to do with physical creation from machining and woodworking, to drawing and carving. He has a special interest in leather working. One day Jonah hopes to have the time, means, and space to master at least a few of these hobbies.

Cameron Burris
Carpenter

Cameron was in the Ann Arbor Student Building Industry program in high school, where he participated in Skills USA carpentry competitions. He found his love for carpentry while building stages for the high school theatre, and was also an actor on the stages he built! Outside of work, Cam likes to play music and hangout with friends.

Ross Parent
Team Assistant

Ross is newer to the field of carpentry, but is eager to learn and master the craft. He has jumped around from conservation to retail to IT, but never found a field that he truly enjoyed until joining the field of carpentry. Outside of work he enjoys playing chess and spending time with friends and family.

Sean Chene
Rekindle Lead Carpenter

Sean started working in the trades at 17 years old as a mechanic. After branching off to pursue business administration, and a brief stint in musical theatre, Sean found his real love was creating art though building and working with his hands. Since then in 2016, he has been working in construction and remodeling to grow his craft. Sean is a husband to his high school sweetheart, and proud father of three wild younglings - all of which never let him forget to have a little fun with life! 

Jon Frincke
Lead Carpenter

Jon has been with Forward for many years and continuously grows his skills as a craftsmen. In his free time he enjoys gardening and cooking with ingredients from the garden. He does woodworking in his shop whenever he gets the chance. He also enjoys maple syrup making in his backyard and deep woods camping with his partner Lesley.

Susie Cutting
Office Manager

Susie joined the Forward team at the beginning of 2017. Before she became a full-time stay-at-home mom to raise her son, she worked as an office manager for MLive.com. Now that her son is older, she's excited to be part of a team again. While not at work, she loves being with her son and spending time with friends and family.

Stephanie Bachli
Warranty and CX Leader

Stephanie joined the Forward team with over 15 years experience in educating and guiding people through their health and wellness journey and lifestyle changes. She is passionate about helping people envision their dreams, and leading them in the process of making that dream a reality. Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys. Two of her favorite things are watching her kids play baseball and traveling up north to their family cottage on Higgins Lake.

Lynnette Brice
Controller

Lynnette handles our books and client statements. When she’s not at work or watching hockey, she enjoys gardening or traveling - though she doesn’t get to go as often as she’d like.

James Rowe
Bookkeeper

James graduated from Washtenaw Community College in 2015 with an Associates Degree in Applied Science Accounting. Outside of work he enjoys most outdoor activities, especially camping and hiking (preferably out west, such as Colorado or Wyoming). James also enjoys spending time on woodworking projects.

Siobhan Carmack
Chief Storyteller

Siobhan graduated from Michigan State University in 2016 with a degree in Media and Information, and minors in Public Relations and Design. She almost always has a camera in her hand, both at work and outside of work. In her free time she enjoys hiking and being outdoors as much as possible.