Foremost Team
Steve Cameron, President
Steve Cameron, president and founder of Foremost Companies has more than 25 years of experience in California real estate development and has been closely involved in every aspect of the residential real estate industry from financing and acquisition to the sales and marketing of new homes. Prior to forming Foremost Companies, Cameron was the chief operating officer of Fieldstone Communities, a private residential builder of more than 20,000 homes. Cameron had been associated with The Fieldstone Group of Companies since 1990. Before Fieldstone, he worked at Continental Bank in Chicago in the bank’s real estate capital markets group. Cameron is well known and respected in the local building industry, where he has developed a strong reputation for integrity and community involvement. He is a past president of the Orange County Chapter of the Building Industry Association and has served on the board of directors for several non-profit organizations. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and a Master of Business Administration at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. Cameron lives in San Juan Capistrano with his wife, Suzanne, and their five children.
Michael Canfield, Senior Vice President of Land Acquisitions
Michael Canfield, senior vice president of land acquisitions at Foremost Companies has been involved in major real estate transactions in California and nationally for more than 15 years.
Prior to his arrival at Foremost in May 2008, he led the Acquisitions division at SunCal Companies, where he oversaw transactions bringing more than 100,000 lots into the portfolio of one of California’s largest residential land developers. During his six-year tenure at SunCal, Canfield helped guide the company through a period of growth that saw its holdings go from 10 communities to nearly 80 communities.
Prior to Canfield’s work there, he spent four years as a land acquisition manager for Toll Brothers, Inc. Canfield has also worked on the public-sector side of development in city planning and administration.
At Foremost, Canfield is the lead executive responsible for identifying development properties in key markets expected to drive the company’s growth. He negotiates and underwrites new acquisitions, manages the company’s due diligence efforts, participates in forward planning efforts and manages the marketing and disposition process. Canfield is also the point person in coordinating acquisition strategy with Foremost’s principal investment partners.
Canfield holds a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law and is a member of the State Bar of California. He has a bachelor’s degree in public administration with a minor in business economics from California State University, Long Beach. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry.
Canfield lives in Yorba Linda with his wife, Tania, and two daughters. His son works in Chicago.
Brian Woods, Senior Vice President of Land Development
Brian Woods, senior vice president of land development at Foremost Companies has more than three decades of experience in home building and land development in Southern California.
Prior to joining Foremost in 2008, Woods was vice president of land development for Pulte Homes, where he was responsible for the development of three Del Webb communities in Southern California. He also held the position of vice president of land development and entitlement for the Inland Empire division of Richmond American Homes, where he was involved with multiple acquisitions. Previous titles also include director of development and entitlement and director of construction for Fieldstone Homes/Starwood Capital and general manager for Watt Luxury Housing as well as project manager for a builder and field engineer and surveyor in his home country of England.
At Foremost, Woods is responsible for evaluating and managing entitlements, budgets, construction and team building. He holds a California Class A general engineering license.
Woods became a U.S. citizen in 1991, and, as a “Navy brat” native to the U.K., he spent his first 10 years in south London before moving to Scotland. He graduated from high school at 16, spending two years in the ROTC, where he earned his gliding wings. He holds a degree in mathematical engineering science with a major in civil and structural design from the University of Warwick, Coventry, U.K.
Woods and his wife, Hong, live in Newport Beach and have three grown children. He enjoys skiing, gardening, fine dining, movies, traveling, flying lessons and deep-sea fishing.
Rush Stanisai, Senior Vice President of Finance
Rush Stanisai, senior vice president of finance at Foremost Companies, has an exceptional track record of strategic organizational leadership, execution experience in acquisitions of residential and commercial real estate as well as debt and equity structuring in both institutional and entrepreneurial environments.
Stanisai is responsible for the company’s capital sourcing, including negotiating and managing equity and debt relationships with institutional funds, traditional banks and high-net-worth investors. Stanisai is also instrumental in negotiating development agreements with both public and private entities as well as securing Community Facilities District financing for infrastructure improvements. Other responsibilities include underwriting, negotiating and structuring new residential and commercial real estate ventures.
Prior to joining Foremost Companies, Stanisai served as finance manager for Lennar Homes of California, Inc., one of the nation’s leading homebuilders, where he assisted in managing more than $1 billion in assets in the Inland Empire region. Stanisai has a strong financial background, having managed an asset-based lending program that provided a capital source to exclusive clients for NACC, Inc., a division of Tyco International.
Stanisai earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a specialization in business administration from the University of California, Los Angeles. He lives in Irvine with his wife, Melissa, and their daughter.
Lori Geisler, Controller
Lori Geisler, CPA, brings more than 16 years of executive-level financial operations experience to Foremost Companies. She has handled various business operations and property management responsibilities for some of the nation’s top development, property management and brokerage firms.
Geisler’s breadth of experience includes preparing financial statements pertaining to multiple aspects of organizations in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; direct supervision and staff assembly of large departments; evaluation and presentation of all possible financing opportunities; and management of the due diligence process for real estate acquisitions and dispositions by coordinating with real estate brokers, attorneys, lenders, title and escrow companies and consultants. In addition, she has been responsible for the development of financial performance models for new real estate acquisitions and new development projects and the provision of analysis of profitability, cash flow and investment returns as well as recommendations on investment opportunities.
Before joining Foremost Companies, Inc. in 2007, Geisler was chief operations officer and chief financial officer of real estate development and property management company Sanderson J. Ray Development. In this position, she was responsible for all of the firm’s financial reporting and property management operations.
Geisler also has experience with CB Richard Ellis, serving as senior controller for asset services in the firm’s Newport Beach office. In that position, she was responsible for maintaining the integrity, accuracy and timeliness of monthly financial reports on multiple accounting systems for more than 30 million square feet of office, retail and industrial real estate.
Geisler is a certified public accountant (CPA) and holds a California real estate broker’s license.
Andrew Petitjean, Vice President of Community Development
Andrew Petitjean, vice president of community development at Foremost Companies, has been involved in land development his entire career, spending the last two decades in California.
Before he joined Foremost in 2013, Petitjean spent 11 years with Lewis Operating Corporation as vice president of planned community development. His responsibilities included acquisitions and project management of various projects, including a 3,000-acre master-planned community in Riverside County. Prior to Lewis Operating Corporation, Petitjean worked with Catellus Development Corporation in the Residential Group. He managed various development functions across multiple projects, including the nation’s largest residential brownfield redevelopment and entitlement of the most recent California State University campus.
At Foremost, Petitjean is responsible for overall project management of planned communities, including planning, entitlement, design, permitting and construction. He has overseen the entitlement of 13,000 residential units.
From his home state of Ohio, Petitjean earned a civil engineering degree from the University of Cincinnati, a Master of Business Administration from Ohio State University and a civil engineering license.
Petitjean lives in Fullerton with his wife, Marida, and their daughter and son.
Gene R. Wark, Director of Land Development
Gene Wark, director of land development at Foremost Companies, brings over 38 years of construction experience to the land development industry, primarily in the area of mass grading and heavy highway/civil projects.
Prior to joining Foremost, Wark played many prominent roles in the industry, having touched more than 600 million cubic yards of soil in his career.
With a career beginning in 1977, his past titles range from heavy equipment operator to grade checker and grading foreman on mass grading and fine grading projects throughout Southern California. In 1998, he started estimating for mass grading projects, followed by a 15-year period in which he successfully estimated and managed many millions of dollars’ worth of contract work. Wark also holds an active Class A general engineering license and was a proud member of Local 12 for 21 years.
At Foremost, Wark is responsible for value engineering and grading review of new acquisitions as well as managing the grading operations on the vast portfolio of Foremost Companies projects.
Wark lives in the French Valley area with his wife, Julie, and has three adult daughters.
Holly Carlson Schooley, Contract Manager
Holly Carlson Schooley, contract manager of Foremost Companies, has more than 23 years of experience in the real estate industry, including land development, residential home building and commercial construction.
Before coming to Foremost, Carlson Schooley was the offsite contract and budget administrator for Fieldstone Communities, where she was responsible for purchasing, contracting, project budgeting, budget maintenance, insurance compliance and bond exoneration. Prior to Fieldstone, she worked at Taylor Woodrow (now Taylor Morrison) for close to nine years, working in both offsite development and accounting.
Carlson Schooley lives in San Juan Capistrano.
Raj Panchal, Director of Acquisitions
Raj Panchal, Director of Acquisitions at Foremost Companies, has an extensive background in valuation and market feasibility analysis.
Panchal previously served as a director with The Concord Group, a national real estate advisory group based in Newport Beach, California. During his seven-year tenure, he managed over 250 engagements across residential, commercial and hospitality uses, with experience spanning the western United States and select markets on the East Coast.
At Foremost, Panchal is responsible for identifying development opportunities in strategic markets that are expected to drive the company’s growth. He also underwrites new acquisitions, participates in forward planning efforts and assists in the marketing and disposition process.
Outside of the office, Panchal serves as a board member for an Orange County-based non-profit organization and is involved with international humanitarian efforts. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in real estate finance and development from the University of Southern California.
Richard Gillham, Accounting Manager
Richard Gillham serves as the Accounting Manager at Foremost Companies, where he assists in all aspects of the company’s accounting, financial reporting and financial analysis functions.
Prior to joining Foremost Companies, Gillham worked for Ernst & Young’s assurance practice in the Bay Area and Orange County. As a member of the company’s Real Estate Services group, he served a broad range of public and private companies across the real estate investment, brokerage services and hospitality industries.
Gillham graduated with honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he earned a double major in business economics with an emphasis in accounting and religious studies. He is a certified public accountant (CPA) actively licensed in California.
Sakura Davenport, Office Manager
Sakura Davenport, office manager at Foremost Companies, has more than 15 years of experience in the real estate industry.
Before she joined Foremost, Davenport was an asset manager within Bank of America’s OREO West division, where she managed a portfolio of foreclosed assets across the U.S. She was responsible for the stabilization and disposition of those assets, which included both residential and commercial properties. She has also worked as the FAST operations and administration manager for Fieldstone Communities for close to 10 years, setting up numerous new home communities throughout Southern California and Utah within the FAST database and managing processes within the Operations department.
Davenport earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles and currently lives in Long Beach with her husband, Eric, and their two children.
Satish Lion, Vice President, Community Development
Satish Lion, vice president of community development at Foremost Companies, has more than 14 years of commercial and residential real estate experience. His areas of expertise include real estate development management, asset management and real estate debt investing.
Prior to joining Foremost, Lion was a vice president at PIMCO, where he advised governments and financial institutions on complex, hard-to-value assets and provided trade recommendations on asset-backed securities.
His career began at Lyme Properties, a commercial office and life science developer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he worked as a development manager. Lion has also worked at Cambridge Place Investment Management, a London-based structured credit hedge fund, where he specialized in European commercial mortgage-backed securities and oversaw design and construction activity on a pan-European real estate portfolio.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in structural engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, a master’s degree in construction management and engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in finance from London Business School.
Lion lives in San Clemente with his wife, Jaime, and their three daughters.
Steve Bradley, Vice President of Land Development
Steve Bradley, vice president of land development, joined Foremost Companies on September 1, 2013. Bradley has 31 years of experience in the Southern California residential and land development industry, ranging from land acquisition to project development and vertical construction of the new homes.
Before joining the Foremost team, Bradley spent the last 23 years building his career at Fieldstone Homes, a Southern California-based home building company with divisions in San Antonio, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah, where he held a number of positions, including director of operations for the Southern California division. His roles included responsible managing officer (RMO) for the state contractors license as well as manager of a number of departments from Warranty, Construction Field Operations and Purchasing to Contracting. He was also responsible for supplying the Land Acquisition department with risk assessment and all construction-related budgets during the land acquisition process.
Prior to his 23 years at Fieldstone Homes, he was involved in a number of trades within the construction industry. His career started in the family construction business in Indiana, where he was a masonry and carpentry journeyman before becoming part owner of Bradley and Sons Construction.
Bradley earned his Class B general contractors license from the California State Contractors Board in addition to a Certified Erosion Sediment & Storm Water Inspection (CESSWI) QSP certification from the California State Water Resource Control Board. He also earned a certificate in construction management from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in California.
Jim Wood, Senior Vice President - Foremost Urban
Jim Wood, as Senior Vice President of Foremost Urban, has the primary responsibility for identifying urban infill and income producing commercial investment opportunities: negotiating the economics of each transaction; and providing strategic direction to the acquisition team. Mr. Wood has over 29 years of real estate experience and is a specialist in contract negotiations, project underwriting, financial and market analysis, property operations and leasing. For the past 12 years, Jim has been the President of Stonewood Properties, Inc., which is a commercial investment, property management, construction management, leasing and consulting organization. He remains the principal/founder at Stonewood, though has turned over the majority of his day to day responsibilities to his executive management team to focus on the Foremost Urban investment platform. Previously, Mr. Wood was an executive with Spieker Properties and the PRES Company, where he successfully handled approximately $565 million of acquisition and development opportunities. Prior to his Acquisition experiences, Mr. Wood was a Senior REIT Analyst and Asset Manager for the RREEF Funds in both Orange County and San Francisco.
Mr. Wood received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of the Pacific, and a Masters in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California. He is a licensed real estate broker in the State of California and resides in Orange County with his wife and four children.
Monica Gonzalez, Account Payables Specialist
Monica Gonzalez serves as account payables specialist at Foremost Companies, where she assists the accounting department in various tasks, such as reviewing invoices for appropriate documentation, processing check requests, and responding to vendor inquiries.
Before joining Foremost Companies, Gonzalez held an accounting position for a locally based custom-built furniture manufacturer, and managed office tasks for her family’s business.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in finance at the California State University, Fullerton. She was a board member of the Finance Association and a member of the Association for Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA).
She currently lives in Tustin with her little terrier, Luka.
Sarah McPherson, Marketing and Lifestyle Manager
Sarah McPherson, marketing and lifestyle manager at Foremost Companies, brings 13 years of homebuilding experience in the Southern California residential marketplace.
Prior to joining Foremost, McPherson held various roles throughout her career with Standard Pacific Homes, where her responsibilities included project management, office management, information technology, escrow and marketing. As an integral member of the marketing team, McPherson was instrumental in the Inland Empire Division’s rebranding process combining Ryland Homes and Standard Pacific Homes into CalAtlantic Homes. As the marketing coordinator, she was responsible for digital media and the website as well as various aspects of model home merchandising and community advertising.
McPherson graduated with honors from the University of San Diego, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology. She currently resides in Riverside with her husband, Kevin, and their three children.
Alex Fullenkamp, Senior Financial Analyst
Alex Fullenkamp serves as the senior financial analyst at Foremost Companies, where he assists in managing the company’s assets and land holdings as well as performing market research and underwriting the company’s potential acquisitions.
Prior to joining Foremost Companies, Fullenkamp worked for David Taussig & Associates, Inc., a national public finance, urban economics and clean energy bond consulting firm. During his time at David Taussig & Associates, Inc., Fullenkamp assisted developers in obtaining various forms of public financing and aided government agencies in the administration of special taxing districts throughout the country.
Fullenkamp holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the University of Southern California.
Peter Vanek, Vice President of Land Development
Vanek, vice president of land development, has over 15 years of experience in project management, forward planning and land development. Prior to joining Foremost Companies, Vanek worked at Meritage Homes and was responsible for forward planning and land development. Prior to Meritage, Vanek was with Lennar Homes as director of community development for the Orange County Division. In addition, Peter worked with consulting firm Hogle-Ireland as well as several city planning departments.
Vanek attended the University of California, Irvine, where he received a bachelor’s degree in environmental analysis and design.
Vanek currently serves as the president of the BIA of Southern California as well as on the board of directors for the BIA of Orange County.
When not working, Vanek spends much of his free time with his wife, Rashmi, his son, Dylan, and his daughter, Maya, enjoying a multitude of outdoor activities, including mountain biking, snowboarding, surfing and kitesurfing.
Andrew Strohl, Assistant Project Manager
Andrew Strohl currently serves as an assistant project manager at Foremost Companies. Prior to joining the management team, Strohl served as an acquisition analyst on the Foremost Urban platform, where he assisted with deal sourcing, market analysis, underwriting and due diligence management.
While in school, Strohl interned with NPV Advisors, a national commercial appraisal company, in their economics department. Strohl graduated from Chapman University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics. Outside of the office, Andrew remains involved with Phi Delta Theta – Cal Phi, as he was a founding father and two-term alumni chair.
Steve Cameron, President
Steve Cameron, president and founder of Foremost Companies has more than 25 years of experience in California real estate development and has been closely involved in every aspect of the residential real estate industry from financing and acquisition to the sales and marketing of new homes. Prior to forming Foremost Companies, Cameron was the chief operating officer of Fieldstone Communities, a private residential builder of more than 20,000 homes. Cameron had been associated with The Fieldstone Group of Companies since 1990. Before Fieldstone, he worked at Continental Bank in Chicago in the bank’s real estate capital markets group. Cameron is well known and respected in the local building industry, where he has developed a strong reputation for integrity and community involvement. He is a past president of the Orange County Chapter of the Building Industry Association and has served on the board of directors for several non-profit organizations. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and a Master of Business Administration at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. Cameron lives in San Juan Capistrano with his wife, Suzanne, and their five children.
Michael Canfield, Senior Vice President of Land Acquisitions
Michael Canfield, senior vice president of land acquisitions at Foremost Companies has been involved in major real estate transactions in California and nationally for more than 15 years.
Prior to his arrival at Foremost in May 2008, he led the Acquisitions division at SunCal Companies, where he oversaw transactions bringing more than 100,000 lots into the portfolio of one of California’s largest residential land developers. During his six-year tenure at SunCal, Canfield helped guide the company through a period of growth that saw its holdings go from 10 communities to nearly 80 communities.
Prior to Canfield’s work there, he spent four years as a land acquisition manager for Toll Brothers, Inc. Canfield has also worked on the public-sector side of development in city planning and administration.
At Foremost, Canfield is the lead executive responsible for identifying development properties in key markets expected to drive the company’s growth. He negotiates and underwrites new acquisitions, manages the company’s due diligence efforts, participates in forward planning efforts and manages the marketing and disposition process. Canfield is also the point person in coordinating acquisition strategy with Foremost’s principal investment partners.
Canfield holds a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law and is a member of the State Bar of California. He has a bachelor’s degree in public administration with a minor in business economics from California State University, Long Beach. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army Airborne Infantry.
Canfield lives in Yorba Linda with his wife, Tania, and two daughters. His son works in Chicago.
Brian Woods, Senior Vice President of Land Development
Brian Woods, senior vice president of land development at Foremost Companies has more than three decades of experience in home building and land development in Southern California.
Prior to joining Foremost in 2008, Woods was vice president of land development for Pulte Homes, where he was responsible for the development of three Del Webb communities in Southern California. He also held the position of vice president of land development and entitlement for the Inland Empire division of Richmond American Homes, where he was involved with multiple acquisitions. Previous titles also include director of development and entitlement and director of construction for Fieldstone Homes/Starwood Capital and general manager for Watt Luxury Housing as well as project manager for a builder and field engineer and surveyor in his home country of England.
At Foremost, Woods is responsible for evaluating and managing entitlements, budgets, construction and team building. He holds a California Class A general engineering license.
Woods became a U.S. citizen in 1991, and, as a “Navy brat” native to the U.K., he spent his first 10 years in south London before moving to Scotland. He graduated from high school at 16, spending two years in the ROTC, where he earned his gliding wings. He holds a degree in mathematical engineering science with a major in civil and structural design from the University of Warwick, Coventry, U.K.
Woods and his wife, Hong, live in Newport Beach and have three grown children. He enjoys skiing, gardening, fine dining, movies, traveling, flying lessons and deep-sea fishing.
Rush Stanisai, Senior Vice President of Finance
Rush Stanisai, senior vice president of finance at Foremost Companies, has an exceptional track record of strategic organizational leadership, execution experience in acquisitions of residential and commercial real estate as well as debt and equity structuring in both institutional and entrepreneurial environments.
Stanisai is responsible for the company’s capital sourcing, including negotiating and managing equity and debt relationships with institutional funds, traditional banks and high-net-worth investors. Stanisai is also instrumental in negotiating development agreements with both public and private entities as well as securing Community Facilities District financing for infrastructure improvements. Other responsibilities include underwriting, negotiating and structuring new residential and commercial real estate ventures.
Prior to joining Foremost Companies, Stanisai served as finance manager for Lennar Homes of California, Inc., one of the nation’s leading homebuilders, where he assisted in managing more than $1 billion in assets in the Inland Empire region. Stanisai has a strong financial background, having managed an asset-based lending program that provided a capital source to exclusive clients for NACC, Inc., a division of Tyco International.
Stanisai earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a specialization in business administration from the University of California, Los Angeles. He lives in Irvine with his wife, Melissa, and their daughter.
Lori Geisler, Controller
Lori Geisler, CPA, brings more than 16 years of executive-level financial operations experience to Foremost Companies. She has handled various business operations and property management responsibilities for some of the nation’s top development, property management and brokerage firms.
Geisler’s breadth of experience includes preparing financial statements pertaining to multiple aspects of organizations in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; direct supervision and staff assembly of large departments; evaluation and presentation of all possible financing opportunities; and management of the due diligence process for real estate acquisitions and dispositions by coordinating with real estate brokers, attorneys, lenders, title and escrow companies and consultants. In addition, she has been responsible for the development of financial performance models for new real estate acquisitions and new development projects and the provision of analysis of profitability, cash flow and investment returns as well as recommendations on investment opportunities.
Before joining Foremost Companies, Inc. in 2007, Geisler was chief operations officer and chief financial officer of real estate development and property management company Sanderson J. Ray Development. In this position, she was responsible for all of the firm’s financial reporting and property management operations.
Geisler also has experience with CB Richard Ellis, serving as senior controller for asset services in the firm’s Newport Beach office. In that position, she was responsible for maintaining the integrity, accuracy and timeliness of monthly financial reports on multiple accounting systems for more than 30 million square feet of office, retail and industrial real estate.
Geisler is a certified public accountant (CPA) and holds a California real estate broker’s license.
Andrew Petitjean, Vice President of Community Development
Andrew Petitjean, vice president of community development at Foremost Companies, has been involved in land development his entire career, spending the last two decades in California.
Before he joined Foremost in 2013, Petitjean spent 11 years with Lewis Operating Corporation as vice president of planned community development. His responsibilities included acquisitions and project management of various projects, including a 3,000-acre master-planned community in Riverside County. Prior to Lewis Operating Corporation, Petitjean worked with Catellus Development Corporation in the Residential Group. He managed various development functions across multiple projects, including the nation’s largest residential brownfield redevelopment and entitlement of the most recent California State University campus.
At Foremost, Petitjean is responsible for overall project management of planned communities, including planning, entitlement, design, permitting and construction. He has overseen the entitlement of 13,000 residential units.
From his home state of Ohio, Petitjean earned a civil engineering degree from the University of Cincinnati, a Master of Business Administration from Ohio State University and a civil engineering license.
Petitjean lives in Fullerton with his wife, Marida, and their daughter and son.
Gene R. Wark, Director of Land Development
Gene Wark, director of land development at Foremost Companies, brings over 38 years of construction experience to the land development industry, primarily in the area of mass grading and heavy highway/civil projects.
Prior to joining Foremost, Wark played many prominent roles in the industry, having touched more than 600 million cubic yards of soil in his career.
With a career beginning in 1977, his past titles range from heavy equipment operator to grade checker and grading foreman on mass grading and fine grading projects throughout Southern California. In 1998, he started estimating for mass grading projects, followed by a 15-year period in which he successfully estimated and managed many millions of dollars’ worth of contract work. Wark also holds an active Class A general engineering license and was a proud member of Local 12 for 21 years.
At Foremost, Wark is responsible for value engineering and grading review of new acquisitions as well as managing the grading operations on the vast portfolio of Foremost Companies projects.
Wark lives in the French Valley area with his wife, Julie, and has three adult daughters.
Holly Carlson Schooley, Contract Manager
Holly Carlson Schooley, contract manager of Foremost Companies, has more than 23 years of experience in the real estate industry, including land development, residential home building and commercial construction.
Before coming to Foremost, Carlson Schooley was the offsite contract and budget administrator for Fieldstone Communities, where she was responsible for purchasing, contracting, project budgeting, budget maintenance, insurance compliance and bond exoneration. Prior to Fieldstone, she worked at Taylor Woodrow (now Taylor Morrison) for close to nine years, working in both offsite development and accounting.
Carlson Schooley lives in San Juan Capistrano.
Raj Panchal, Director of Acquisitions
Raj Panchal, Director of Acquisitions at Foremost Companies, has an extensive background in valuation and market feasibility analysis.
Panchal previously served as a director with The Concord Group, a national real estate advisory group based in Newport Beach, California. During his seven-year tenure, he managed over 250 engagements across residential, commercial and hospitality uses, with experience spanning the western United States and select markets on the East Coast.
At Foremost, Panchal is responsible for identifying development opportunities in strategic markets that are expected to drive the company’s growth. He also underwrites new acquisitions, participates in forward planning efforts and assists in the marketing and disposition process.
Outside of the office, Panchal serves as a board member for an Orange County-based non-profit organization and is involved with international humanitarian efforts. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in real estate finance and development from the University of Southern California.
Richard Gillham, Accounting Manager
Richard Gillham serves as the Accounting Manager at Foremost Companies, where he assists in all aspects of the company’s accounting, financial reporting and financial analysis functions.
Prior to joining Foremost Companies, Gillham worked for Ernst & Young’s assurance practice in the Bay Area and Orange County. As a member of the company’s Real Estate Services group, he served a broad range of public and private companies across the real estate investment, brokerage services and hospitality industries.
Gillham graduated with honors from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he earned a double major in business economics with an emphasis in accounting and religious studies. He is a certified public accountant (CPA) actively licensed in California.
Sakura Davenport, Office Manager
Sakura Davenport, office manager at Foremost Companies, has more than 15 years of experience in the real estate industry.
Before she joined Foremost, Davenport was an asset manager within Bank of America’s OREO West division, where she managed a portfolio of foreclosed assets across the U.S. She was responsible for the stabilization and disposition of those assets, which included both residential and commercial properties. She has also worked as the FAST operations and administration manager for Fieldstone Communities for close to 10 years, setting up numerous new home communities throughout Southern California and Utah within the FAST database and managing processes within the Operations department.
Davenport earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles and currently lives in Long Beach with her husband, Eric, and their two children.
Satish Lion, Vice President, Community Development
Satish Lion, vice president of community development at Foremost Companies, has more than 14 years of commercial and residential real estate experience. His areas of expertise include real estate development management, asset management and real estate debt investing.
Prior to joining Foremost, Lion was a vice president at PIMCO, where he advised governments and financial institutions on complex, hard-to-value assets and provided trade recommendations on asset-backed securities.
His career began at Lyme Properties, a commercial office and life science developer in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he worked as a development manager. Lion has also worked at Cambridge Place Investment Management, a London-based structured credit hedge fund, where he specialized in European commercial mortgage-backed securities and oversaw design and construction activity on a pan-European real estate portfolio.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in structural engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles, a master’s degree in construction management and engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in finance from London Business School.
Lion lives in San Clemente with his wife, Jaime, and their three daughters.
Steve Bradley, Vice President of Land Development
Steve Bradley, vice president of land development, joined Foremost Companies on September 1, 2013. Bradley has 31 years of experience in the Southern California residential and land development industry, ranging from land acquisition to project development and vertical construction of the new homes.
Before joining the Foremost team, Bradley spent the last 23 years building his career at Fieldstone Homes, a Southern California-based home building company with divisions in San Antonio, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah, where he held a number of positions, including director of operations for the Southern California division. His roles included responsible managing officer (RMO) for the state contractors license as well as manager of a number of departments from Warranty, Construction Field Operations and Purchasing to Contracting. He was also responsible for supplying the Land Acquisition department with risk assessment and all construction-related budgets during the land acquisition process.
Prior to his 23 years at Fieldstone Homes, he was involved in a number of trades within the construction industry. His career started in the family construction business in Indiana, where he was a masonry and carpentry journeyman before becoming part owner of Bradley and Sons Construction.
Bradley earned his Class B general contractors license from the California State Contractors Board in addition to a Certified Erosion Sediment & Storm Water Inspection (CESSWI) QSP certification from the California State Water Resource Control Board. He also earned a certificate in construction management from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona in California.
Jim Wood, Senior Vice President - Foremost Urban
Jim Wood, as Senior Vice President of Foremost Urban, has the primary responsibility for identifying urban infill and income producing commercial investment opportunities: negotiating the economics of each transaction; and providing strategic direction to the acquisition team. Mr. Wood has over 29 years of real estate experience and is a specialist in contract negotiations, project underwriting, financial and market analysis, property operations and leasing. For the past 12 years, Jim has been the President of Stonewood Properties, Inc., which is a commercial investment, property management, construction management, leasing and consulting organization. He remains the principal/founder at Stonewood, though has turned over the majority of his day to day responsibilities to his executive management team to focus on the Foremost Urban investment platform. Previously, Mr. Wood was an executive with Spieker Properties and the PRES Company, where he successfully handled approximately $565 million of acquisition and development opportunities. Prior to his Acquisition experiences, Mr. Wood was a Senior REIT Analyst and Asset Manager for the RREEF Funds in both Orange County and San Francisco.
Mr. Wood received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of the Pacific, and a Masters in Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California. He is a licensed real estate broker in the State of California and resides in Orange County with his wife and four children.
Monica Gonzalez, Account Payables Specialist
Monica Gonzalez serves as account payables specialist at Foremost Companies, where she assists the accounting department in various tasks, such as reviewing invoices for appropriate documentation, processing check requests, and responding to vendor inquiries.
Before joining Foremost Companies, Gonzalez held an accounting position for a locally based custom-built furniture manufacturer, and managed office tasks for her family’s business.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in finance at the California State University, Fullerton. She was a board member of the Finance Association and a member of the Association for Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA).
She currently lives in Tustin with her little terrier, Luka.
Sarah McPherson, Marketing and Lifestyle Manager
Sarah McPherson, marketing and lifestyle manager at Foremost Companies, brings 13 years of homebuilding experience in the Southern California residential marketplace.
Prior to joining Foremost, McPherson held various roles throughout her career with Standard Pacific Homes, where her responsibilities included project management, office management, information technology, escrow and marketing. As an integral member of the marketing team, McPherson was instrumental in the Inland Empire Division’s rebranding process combining Ryland Homes and Standard Pacific Homes into CalAtlantic Homes. As the marketing coordinator, she was responsible for digital media and the website as well as various aspects of model home merchandising and community advertising.
McPherson graduated with honors from the University of San Diego, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology. She currently resides in Riverside with her husband, Kevin, and their three children.
Alex Fullenkamp, Senior Financial Analyst
Alex Fullenkamp serves as the senior financial analyst at Foremost Companies, where he assists in managing the company’s assets and land holdings as well as performing market research and underwriting the company’s potential acquisitions.
Prior to joining Foremost Companies, Fullenkamp worked for David Taussig & Associates, Inc., a national public finance, urban economics and clean energy bond consulting firm. During his time at David Taussig & Associates, Inc., Fullenkamp assisted developers in obtaining various forms of public financing and aided government agencies in the administration of special taxing districts throughout the country.
Fullenkamp holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the University of Southern California.
Peter Vanek, Vice President of Land Development
Vanek, vice president of land development, has over 15 years of experience in project management, forward planning and land development. Prior to joining Foremost Companies, Vanek worked at Meritage Homes and was responsible for forward planning and land development. Prior to Meritage, Vanek was with Lennar Homes as director of community development for the Orange County Division. In addition, Peter worked with consulting firm Hogle-Ireland as well as several city planning departments.
Vanek attended the University of California, Irvine, where he received a bachelor’s degree in environmental analysis and design.
Vanek currently serves as the president of the BIA of Southern California as well as on the board of directors for the BIA of Orange County.
When not working, Vanek spends much of his free time with his wife, Rashmi, his son, Dylan, and his daughter, Maya, enjoying a multitude of outdoor activities, including mountain biking, snowboarding, surfing and kitesurfing.
Andrew Strohl, Assistant Project Manager
Andrew Strohl currently serves as an assistant project manager at Foremost Companies. Prior to joining the management team, Strohl served as an acquisition analyst on the Foremost Urban platform, where he assisted with deal sourcing, market analysis, underwriting and due diligence management.
While in school, Strohl interned with NPV Advisors, a national commercial appraisal company, in their economics department. Strohl graduated from Chapman University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics. Outside of the office, Andrew remains involved with Phi Delta Theta – Cal Phi, as he was a founding father and two-term alumni chair.
About Us
Foremost Companies is a premier land investment firm that acquires property in strategic locations to entitle and sell high-quality developments to homebuilders or commercial developers. The company and its affiliates own and/or manage over 12,000 residential lots across California. Foremost is seeking raw land, partially improved land, brownfields and urban redevelopment opportunities at any stage of the entitlement process. Foremost’s urban infill and redevelopment team is specifically focused on Los Angeles and Orange counties in areas with underutilized commercial space. Foremost’s senior management team is experienced in master-planned communities and single-family detached and attached product, including townhomes, stacked flats and podium and tower configurations, as well as rentals, multifamily, retail, office and mixed use.