Our Team

Julie Bernhardt

Julie Bernhardt brings with her over fifteen years of experience in the Construction field. In addition to her construction background, Julie has several years of Administration service. She is currently on-site at Foothill College providing bond support as needed.

Ms. Bernhardt is experienced in all phases of the public bid process and procedures and also serves as office manager to a team of fifteen. She is also continually active as a non- profit volunteer for youth programs throughout the Silicon Valley and has participated on local bond measures serving the public school level.

Courtney Borden

Courtney Borden is the Administrative Assistant to the Program Manager at College of the Desert. Ms. Borden brings over 25 years of experience in administration to her position, with roles ranging from receptionist to office management. During her career she has trained and managed departments, mentored sales teams, and has reorganized office systems for Fortune 500 companies.

Highlights of her career include "Employee of Year" and "Most Satisfied Customers" awards for three years in a row.

Gregg Capper

Gregg Capper has 22 years of experience working in the Architectural and Program Management environments. After receiving his Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology, he worked for seven years as a Project Manager and Department Manager with the California State Prison Construction program and assisted the Division of State Architects in the development of their electronic submittal review process.

Recently he received his LEED AP and has been a strong advocate in its implementation. He now shares his knowledge and expertise as a Project Manager on a bond-funded expansion program for the College of the Desert. Mr. Capper currently manages three projects worth approximately $50M in total budget.

Trenton Carr

Trenton Carr has 23 years of experience in the architectural and construction industry. This experience includes extensive project management, departmental and team management, project design and interior design, site planning, construction document preparation, presentation drawings and renderings, coordination of architectural and engineering disciplines, construction administration and inspections, review and development of specifications, shop drawing review, cost estimating, financial cash flow review, agency permitting, and client interaction. He has a five year degree in Architecture.

Mr. Carr has a wide variety of project types in his portfolio including: community colleges, office buildings, stadiums, libraries, hospitals, hotels, retail facilities, daycares, multi-family housing and custom residential homes. His work has won several awards, been published in several magazines and televised on Modern Marvels, "The History Channel". Trenton's technical skills include AutoCAD, Microsoft Project, Primavera 6, Newforma, PowerPoint, Excel, Publisher, and Word.

He is Senior Project Manager and is currently managing the West Valley - Palm Springs Campus, Communication Building and the Monterey Entrance: approximately $70M in total budget. He is responsible for the Cash Flow Report, Master Schedule, Board Report, Citizens Oversight Committee Report, Fire Access Plan, and Bond Website for the $433M Measure B Bond at the College of the Desert.

Marie Gowland

Marie Gowland brings ten years of accounting experience to her current position as an Accounting Assistant with the capital construction bond team at College of the Desert. She has become an integral part of the team, with her tenacity for working to meet District needs and standards, while knowing the importance of and maintaining a great relationship with the College, Design Professionals, and Consultants. She is responsible for processing purchase requisitions and invoices, financial reporting, labor compliance, acting as back-up to Contracts, and helping with fine-tuning certain site-specific operational procedures.

Ms. Gowland assists in identifying any billing issues or discrepancies, meeting deadlines for monthly financial reporting to be presented to the College Board and assists the District with their fiscal year-end closing.

Greg Granderson

Mr. Greg Granderson has worked within the California Community College educational system for 38 years as an administrator and faculty member. Greg has experience directing and coordinating a wide range of student services departments including Counseling, Admission and Records, Financial Aid and EOPS. He has developed programs and written curriculum, and is regarded across the state as a leader in the areas of accreditation, aid to students, and counseling.

Mr. Granderson served as a member of the Executive Board of the California Statewide Academic Senate working to improve the educational achievement and success of community college students across California. Additionally, he served as a member of the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. Greg holds a Bachelors and Master’s Degree from the University of La Verne. He has presented at both local and national educational conferences.

Curtis Guy

Mr. Guy has been a Project Manager with MAAS Companies since 2000. He has successfully worked with multiple Districts and Facilities Departments within the California community college system to implement their visions for the future growth of their campuses.

Curtis’ experiences, prior to joining MAAS Companies, range from being a carpenter’s apprentice on high rise buildings in New York City to owning a small construction company in California. His range of experience in the construction industry brings a unique advantage to the clients Mr. Guy services as part of the MAAS Companies team.

Sandra Henderson

Sandra Henderson has over fifteen years of experience in Accounting with particular focus on Billing, Accounts Receivable, Collections, Accounts Payable, and Payroll across multiple industries (Food service, Education, Property Management, Construction, and Semiconductor). She earned an Associate's Degree in Business Administration.

Ms. Henderson's responsibilities as an Administrative and Accounting Assistant at Foothill-De Anza Community College District include invoice processing, contract review and analysis, maintaining contract files, assisting as needed with all aspects of financial reporting, Board Items, Requisitions, Purchase Orders and Liability insurance. Sandra also provides back-up in administrative areas including but not limited to scheduling, shipping and bid document support.

Rhonda Johnson

Rhonda brings 5 years of service to her role as Director of Accounting for MAAS and over 20 years in the field of finance and accounting. She's served in higher education at the college level as a Controller in a private for-profit setting at San Joaquin Valley College (SJVC).

She is currently responsible for the overall integrity of financial information; and provides day-to-day management of the Company's financial systems as well as the development and recommendations in the implementation of business improvement policies and procedures.

Jeff Kellogg

Jeff Kellogg specializes in the field of educational master planning where he has most recently participated in the completion of 18 community college plans over the past five years. These Plans include Educational & Facility Master Plans, Resource Allocation Plans, Enrollment Management Plans and Space Inventory Plans.

He is well versed in many areas of analysis including demographic analysis, economic analysis, enrollment management, space/facilities planning, Title 5, State Chancellor's facilities guidelines and space inventory. In addition to his professional experience with higher education, he is currently serving his third term on the Long Beach City College Board of Trustees where he is also a distinguished member of the College's Alumni Hall of Fame.

Mr. Kellogg is active with a variety of organizations representing the different segments of community colleges and has participated in numerous presentations and seminars highlighting his expertise and experiences. Mr. Kellogg's responsibilities also include marketing and business development to past, present and future clients.

Lindsay King

Lindsay King (formerly Maas) is a senior educational consultant for MAAS Companies.

Ms. King has over ten years of experience in K-12 as a teacher and in higher education as a consultant. As the company founder’s daughter, she has worked in the business for many years in different roles, and she has a deep hands-on understanding of the MAAS way of delivering excellence in education-related projects.

Ms. King's responsibilities include consulting activities related to educational tasks and projects, from requirements analysis to solution design and implementation. Example project: successful management of a $89 million capital construction bond at Southwestern College, which included the planning of two new campuses, a "One Stop" Student Services Center, and a state-of-the-art Music Theater.

Additionally, she specializes in state reporting- and accreditation-related projects, including five-year plans, space inventories, and project proposals for institutions of higher learning. Ms. King is a certified practitioner of the Strong Inventory and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Ms. King holds a Master of Arts degree in Education, with a specialization in Curriculum and Instruction.

Ryan Lamb

Ryan Lamb has five years experience working for a prominent Palm Springs architecture firm and an additional five years supervisory experience in the hospitality and restaurant industry. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture Degree and is proficient in AutoCAD and other industry-used software. He has been a part of the architecture teams for multiple bond projects at College of the Desert. His industry knowledge, efficiency and organizational skills make him ideal for the responsibilities that his position demands.

Mr. Lamb is currently leading our team at College of the Desert in developing standards for document control and information sharing. This is a merger of CM13 Construction Management software, P6 Scheduling software and SharePoint360 Collaboration software.

Nancy Le

Nancy Le brings twelve years experience in accounting, payroll, and contract administration. As a Project Accountant, Ms. Le's responsibilities include establishing contracts and change orders, confirming proper account coding and ensuring all applicable liability insurance certificates are uploaded and current. In addition, she works with the Purchasing Department to open Purchase Orders and update our accounting software, Prompt, accordingly, and manages all invoicing.

Ms. Le ensures all Board Items are properly executed and uploaded to PROMPT.ed and maintains electronic files of Budget Cost Reports in Prompt and assists with monthly reconciliation. She oversees the process of day to day administrative items, including the preparation and maintenance of project bid documents and ordering plans/specs for multiple projects. She is also fluent in Vietnamese.

Karen LeSassier

Karen LeSassier has over 25 years of knowledge and experience in Capital Outlay Programs at Institutions of Higher Education. She holds a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Business Administration. Ms. LeSassier has worked in several levels of higher education including Plant/Asset Accountant in the Accounting Office and Office Manager in Design and Construction. She has extensive experience working in the field of construction with project managers, contractors and consultants, contract compliance, financial management, and, budget and resource analysis. Karen's primary responsibilities as a Contract Specialist include preparation of bid summaries, letters of intent and proceed to bidders, contracts, agreements and purchase orders.

Ms. LeSassier also provides support to project managers and backup for office administration.

Michael Maas

Dr. MAAS is the founding principal in the firm and is recognized as one of the premier planning consultants working in both the public and private sectors in California. He is considered an expert in educational master planning, facility planning, site acquisition and entitlement processing.

He has first-hand knowledge of not only educational programming requirements but also the ability to develop financial plans to ensure successful implementation of the plans developed. His understanding of agency approval requirements and how to incorporate elements of reason into the planning process has earned him special recognition by both educational institutions and local/state agencies.

Prior to forming his own company in 1987, Dr. MAAS served in a number of administrative positions, including Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Vice-President for Student Services, and Vice-President for Planning and Development in large community college districts in California.

Jerry McCaughey

Jerome McCaughey is a project manager for the capital construction bond team at College of the Desert. He is a licensed professional builder and engineer with extensive experience in designing and building residential, commercial and industrial projects. His breadth of experience encompasses: design/build commercial projects, custom home building on engineered sites, industrial concrete Tilt-Up building and project management, off-site development including water storage facilities and delivery systems including filtration. He has a demonstrated track record in delivering projects on time and within budget.

Mr. McCaughey has a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Belford, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from UCSD and is PM.10 certified through the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Larry McCrorey

As a systems administrator, Larry McCrorey brings 20 years of experience in Information Technology. He has worked in many aspects including direct end-user support in the Windows/DOS operating system environment and the associated applications such as Office. Although most of his experience is in direct support, he has also worked extensively in network management and server administration. The last 10 years of his experience has been primarily in networks, servers, personal machines and direct end-user support for operating systems, applications and peripherals. Specifically,

Mr. McCrorey manages email and phone systems and other communication technologies like VOIP (Skype) as well as exploiting the emerging field of cloud computing for backup, email and collaborative tools. He is the first point of contact for technical support and company tech resource training.

Mac McGinnis

Mac McGinnis has over 25 years of experience working in the design and construction industry. As Vice President of Development Services, his responsibilities include Program, Project and Construction Management services wherein he provides oversight for all construction projects in several major Community College District Bond Funded Capital Programs. He has personally planned, overseen and executed designer and contractor procurement, master scheduling, estimating, cost control, and project reporting.

Additionally, Mr. McGinnis has overseen the establishment of program standards and procedures, District design standards, and specialty design standards. He has managed and overseen all aspects of the program, project and construction management elements of major capital programs.

Vangie Meneses

Dr. Meneses' experience includes over thirty years in higher education with wide-ranging community college and higher education experience throughout California. Dr. Meneses served in a number of administrative positions, including Chief Academic Officer, Vice-President of Student Services, Acting Vice-President of Instruction, Acting Vice-President of Administrative Services and Acting President.

Her specialty includes a depth of knowledge of all student services programs and functions, accreditation and educational consulting.

Dr. Meneses is a member of the Mgroup Consulting Team.

Georges Merx

Dr. Merx brings to MAAS a decades-long passionate involvement with both commercial information technology and adult teaching. As a full- and part-professor at various colleges and universities in Southern California, Dr. Merx, who holds a PhD in Education from Claremont Graduate University, as well as a Master's in Business Administration from San Diego State University, experienced first-hand the strengths, as well as the risks and weaknesses of the adult education system in the United States.

And as a software engineer, project, program, and product manager, and in various executive positrons with companies in the U.S. and Europe, including NCR, AT&T, and QUALCOMM, Dr. Merx learned that customers come first, and that they expect their accurate solutions on time, on budget, and according to their requirements.

Dr. Merx manages the solution design, development, deployment, and maintenance of MAAS's information technology-enabled solutions, such as its premier enterprise offering PROMPT.ed, used for financial and project management in public bond-financed construction projects, and its e-assessment platform TAO.

Susan Moore

In her twelve years with MAAS Companies, Susan Moore has been the lead for Space Inventory, Scheduled Maintenance Planning, Five-Year Plans, Initial Project Proposals and has supported MAAS educational planners with coordination, implementation & submittal of final project proposals.

She also has twelve years experience in program start-up as well as financial tracking & reporting of bond-related construction projects. Her on-site bond implementation activities have included Cabrillo College, Hartnell College, Kern Community College District, and Foothill De-Anza Community College District.

She has served in all aspects of administrative functions for MAAS, as well as accounting activities ranging from invoice processing to complex budget management and reconciliation reporting. She is well versed on Prolog, Datatel, Banner, PROMPT.ed (a web-based financial tracking program owned and created by the company) and Fusion, a web-based state reporting program.

Ms. Moore currently serves as Finance Manager at Foothill-De-Anza for MAAS Companies. In addition, she also serves as Trustee for the MAAS Companies Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP).

Mike Morcos

Michael Morcos comes to MAAS Companies as an Education Consultant with nearly a decade of higher education administration experience, as well as several years of general contracting and real estate experience.

Mr. Morcos' previous roles in Education administration include all positions within a financial aid office from Financial Aid Advisor through Director of Finance and Financial Aid, at several colleges and universities; as well as Director of Compliance for Federal Title IV, State, and Accrediting Regulatory bodies. Before entering the world of Higher Education, Michael created a successful general contracting construction business in southern Illinois and the St. Louis Metro area. He also practiced real estate in California. Michael holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and an MBA in International Marketing.

His enthusiasm, experience, and understanding of regulatory constraint truly offer a unique perspective of education administration; and allow for a wide variety of solutions to many of the daily challenges that education administrators face on a daily basis.

Lori O'Keefe

Lori O'Keefe (formerly MAAS) is the Vice-President of Administration and Planning at MAAS. She has sixteen years of experience in California Education and holds a Master's Degree in Education. She has worked at all levels of the educational system, ranging from elementary education to post-secondary institutions and is recognized by the University of California as a mentor in the fields of curriculum and teaching strategies.

Over the past two years, Ms. O'Keefe, in cooperation with faculty, staff and administrators has successfully written eight Educational Master Plans for community colleges in California. She places great importance on coordinating all planning activities with trustees, administrators, faculty, staff and students to ensure that the approved master plan is the result of a truly collaborative and integrated process. She has presented seminars on master planning as well as how to integrate the institution's master planning activities with accreditation standards and strategic planning.

Ms. O'Keefe is also a certified administrator of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and STRONG Interest Inventory. She utilizes both of these instruments to assist students, recent graduates and employees in identifying areas of education and employment that best align with their interests, skill sets and goals. Lori O'Keefe's responsibilities include active involvement in master planning activities for clients and the coordination of Administrative Services.

Pamela Pence

Pam Pence has been providing professional architectural and project management services for over 25 years. Her work has been for business, institutional and educational entities.

Ms. Pence has been an Owner's Representative, Executive Architect and Design Architect in the planning and development of major construction programs for school districts, corporations and various arms of the government.

Her experience has well prepared her for her current role as Associate Program Manager and Senior Project Manager for the Desert Community College District in Coachella Valley, CA.

Don Searle

Donald D. Searle, Project Manager, is an NCARB registered architect licensed in both the US and Canada with specialization in educational design for the past 24 years. Possessing a Master’s Degree in Architecture, Mr. Searle has completed over 2.75 million square feet of educational space for public and private institutions in urban, suburban and rural locations. His work involves new facilities, extensive renovations and restorations of existing educational facilities. He is a LEED accredited professional that is committed to sustainability and is also interested in historic preservation, having served as an architectural archivist for the National Parks Service with drawings in the Library of Congress.

Mr. Searle has been a Vice President/Partner in Charge of Design for a major educational facility planning and architectural firm in the Northeast US, managing all aspects of project design, planning, production, interiors, code reviews, and team building for a 20 person staff. He is proficient in AutoCAD, Microsoft Office Suite, Photoshop, and Sketchup and utilizes US Department of Energy software for energy envelope analysis as well.

He has received regional and national recognition for his educational facility design work, been a lecturer in higher education on architectural heritage/history, mentored high school students in pursuing architectural career options, been an advisor to planning educational curriculum and been a presenter at educational planning conferences on Autism and Architecture.

Elizabeth Stewart

Elizabeth Stewart is the Finance Manager for our capital construction bond team at College of the Desert. For the past five years she has assisted the college with their Bond Capital Construction program and the District with their Bond and State funding requirements. Her supervision in budgeting, audits, contracts, payables and reconciliation of the construction projects have been instrumental to ensure maximum funding for the Client.

Ms. Stewart has over twenty years experience in the field of accounting and administration, with fourteen years as Finance Manager for various industries. Highlights in her career include recipient of the Ford Motor Company ESP Professional Sales Guild Award for four years in a row, and the Hall of Fame Sales Award for two consecutive years. Elizabeth also holds the role as Trustee for our company's ESOP program.

Irina Thornton

Irina Thornton has an extensive background in academia and construction. She worked for nine years for the European Bank of Development and Reconstruction and then became a Department Dean and taught for ten years at the Baltic University of Ecology, Politics and Law, and at the Baltic University of Foreign Languages and International Cooperation in her home town of St. Petersburg, Russia.

In addition to her M.A. in Linguistics, she also has an M.A. in Applied Mathematics and Computer Programming and an M.A. in English as a Second Language.

For the past four years Ms. Thornton has been an Accountant who works exclusively on the Foothill / De Anza capital construction bond projects and is responsible for the De Anza accounting and public reporting of these projects.