Kelly loves making things. She began working on her own houses and building furniture for herself, then started taking on jobs for others when she lived in Ohio. She currently does remodeling jobs on her own, works part time with a mostly female tin knockin' roofing crew all over mid-Maine and mid-coast Maine, and is looking for land to build her first little spec house. She loves sharing her enthusiasm for building, creating safe spaces for women in trades, and sharing her zest for life in general.

After being a field carpenter for 5 years, Liz was lured back into office life by the role of project manager, with the promise of less carpal tunnel, different back pain, and a more temperature controlled environment. She now manage jobs from sales to final punch list, including design, project development, estimating, scheduling, site supervision, and client and trade partner communications. This responsibility shift makes her relish the moments she can sneak into the field, smash some plaster, lift a wall, or teach a newbie.

Originally from San Francisco and Japan, Kiyona has been a carpenter for the past four-ish years, working for Warren Construction Group, Maine Passive House, and now Spindrift Carpentry. She’s also working toward a masters degree in Sustainable Design through Boston Architectural College. Kiyona is stoked to work with such an incredible group of people to bring We Built This workshops to the community.

Anna is based out of Portland and works in residential construction as a carpenter. She has experience building from foundation to finish and is currently working with Dan Kolbert Building.

After a decade in the graphic design field, Tobey came into carpentry after designing a tiny home on wheels with his partner, Mal. His frustration with the housing market and drive to live more sustainably led him and his partner to build their own tiny home in Gray in 2022 where they live in 216 square feet with two cats and a dog. As a trans man, Tobey hopes to influence inclusivity and accessibility within the trades.

Katrina Belle is Project Manager for Maine Passive House in Bethel Maine. After spending 7 years in the industry and working on many job sites, she understands how critical the need is to diversify the field. Also knowing how daunting it is to get into the industry, she feels strongly about providing a safe and inclusionary space for individuals to learn and grow. She helped launch the first We Built This workshop in 2020 and has been a staunch supporter ever since!

After an unfulfilling and thankfully short career in marketing and design, Mei D.W. made the switch to high-performance building in 2021. Starting at Emerald Builders before joining Kolbert Building, she is a Certified Passive House Tradesperson with plans to continue nerding out over building science. As a former We Built This attendee and designer of the Mobile Free Pantry, she was excited to partner with WBT for the build of the Pantry and is excited to teach in the future!

Following brief stints with cooking and boatbuilding, Ben jumped into carpentry and timber framing 25 years ago and has been thoroughly engaged ever since then. He is looking forward to lending a hand, sharing skills and knowledge, and hopefully sparking some interest with anyone considering a career in the trades. Ben is the Founder and Owner of Benjamin & Co Timber Frame Homes.

Ann is 67 years. old. She began learning cabinetmaking in 1976. She has co-owned a custom furniture/cabinetmaking business. Ann did a 2 year apprenticeship in wooden boatbuilding and currently runs a boatbuilding class for kids and does select custom woodworking projects.

Patty is a daughter, sister and mother of carpenters. She comes by her love of working with wood and other materials naturally. Patty LOVES what happens at We Built This workshops and is so excited and honored to be part of it.

Elise was introduced to carpentry in a We Built This Intro to Carpentry workshop in 2020. Elise and their partner started building a yurt on their land in Whitefield the summer of 2020, and Elise built custom furniture for the yurt using scrap wood and the skills gained from WBT. They are going to start building a house this summer, so they are excited to keep learning about building! The most important and useful skill Elise learned with WBT was confidence, the knowledge that they can figure it out and create something all their own.

Erin got into building with Maine Passive House thinking it was going to be a summer internship, when it actually turned out to be her career! We Built This was a side bonus for her when she started working in this field because it allowed her to learn many useful skills away from the pressures of a job site. Erin loves getting her hands dirty and is not afraid of hard work!