ABOUT US
MEET OUR TEAM
GEORGE KLEMENS
FOUNDER
“At the end of the day, when you build houses wisely — with more energy efficiency — you give future generations a chance to experience things in nature that have been significant throughout time.”
George’s passion for home building and the natural world first cross sectioned through his work as a builder and hunting guide in the wide open spaces of Montana and Alaska. Upon returning to his home state of New York, he began experimenting with his “green” timber home ideal.
“In its infancy, creating a timber house meant putting up a timber frame with a stick house around it. While it looked awesome, it didn’t make sense. SIPs changed all of that. When we combined the two we had a winner. And as we built, we refined the process making houses that are off the charts efficiency wise — using the panels to their insulating strength and the timbers to their structural and esthetic strengths.”
BRIAN KEMPISTY
PARTNER
“At the time, I was a partner in a national transportation brokerage company, but I knew that I wanted to partner with George.”
“My wife and I lived in a nice little timber frame house in Ellicottville, New York and we loved it. But they started developing nearby so we began looking for land to build on. Eventually we found a piece of hillside acreage with a view and knew it was the perfect spot.”
Brian began his search for a timber framer by reaching out to varied sources in locations across the United States. At the end of the day, Timberbuilt was his builder of choice for one main reason.
ADAM LINCOLN
OPERATIONS MANAGER
“I was working at a design build company and one day I literally walked out of a meeting — where management announced the company was closing — to a message from George. He wanted to interview me as an architectural designer.”
The early days of Adam’s Timberbuilt career were spent working with George in a 10’x12′ office. The close quarters remained their standard for two years while they evolved as mentor and student.
“At the time, the new office was in the planning stages and the old office had no running water and a port-a-potty outside. Truthfully, I didn’t know if I would make it. But as we worked together, George made me feel like I was part of something special. He is a hands-on person and he passed that trait on to me.”
SAMANTHA FENTZKE
CLIENT RELATIONS
Sam is on point.
She’s our best foot forward, our outgoing, upbeat, energetic people person who represents us in all of our client relationships. When you start a project with Timberbuilt, Sam answers all of your questions and makes it easy to bounce around ideas.
Sam studied architecture technology and started as our drafting intern so she can seamlessly translate the language of technical engineering into simple, every day English.
ANDY PETRINEC
RA, LEED AP, CDT,
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER
Andy has a bunch of letters after his name, which means he’s important.
It also signifies an exciting step forward for Timberbuilt — Andy is our first full fledged, registered architect (RA), our first accredited expert on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Ratings (LEED AP), and part of an elite group of industry pros.
DAN RYDZIK
FIELD SUPERVISOR
When a guy as quiet as Dan talks, people listen.
It doesn’t hurt that he’s been with Timberbuilt for 15 years or that he cut his teeth crafting our most intricate joinery for a decade. A master woodworker with a watchmaker’s attention to detail, Dan’s been called on to handle any unusual shapes or custom details that our projects sometimes demand. He’s also our guy for furniture, cabinetry, and finish work in our own homes and our newly rebuilt shop.
Nowadays Dan runs our primary field crew and is responsible for assembling all of the timbers and panels at your job site.
KATHRYN ARMBRUSTER
OFFICE MANAGER
Kathryn organizes the mounds of bills and checks we receive. She does all of our bookkeeping and manages the phone system. Her most popular task around the office is payroll.
STEVE GIBLIN
MARKETING & RECRUITING
Steve is a true Timberbuilt hybrid — at home both in the office and at the job site.
As our head of marketing, Steve is responsible for getting Timberbuilt out there, in front of the world. He programs and maintains our website, produces all of our written content, recruits new employees, and updates our social media.
Like most of our staff, Steve is an avid outdoorsman. He also likes heights.
TYLER PRINCE
STRUCTURAL DESIGN & LOGISTICS
It’s hard to remember a pre-Tyler Timberbuilt.
Tyler joined our team with a background in CADD technologies and multitasked in our design department for years, assisting with architectural drawings, constructions documents, and injecting manpower (and brainpower) wherever and whenever it was needed.
His quick-learning workhorse mentality landed him in his current home, alongside Adam Lincoln, where he functions as a high performance, integral part of our operations department.
KELLY MOSER
INTERIOR DECORATOR
Kelly is a hunter, constantly on the lookout for a complementing color, a fitting countertop material, or that rug that pulls the room together just right. She’s plugged into the constantly expanding world of home design and decorating and isn’t afraid of having an opinion.
MICHAEL KUSHNER
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER
Mike graduated from the University of Buffalo with a major in Architecture, a minor in environmental design, and some practical, boots-on-the-ground, construction experience.
Architecture grads who have personally framed houses are right in our strike zone so offering Mike a spot on our team was an easy no-brainer.
We’re glad we did because Mike’s got all the intangibles too, the stuff you can’t learn: good taste, an eye for what works and what doesn’t, and the kind of obsessive work-smarter, not harder, mentality that efficiency auditors drool over.
CARRIE LUNDE
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER
Carrie joined our team after 15 years of experience as a lead drafter for an architectural restoration manufacturer. She has degrees in Architectural Engineering Technology and Horticulture/Landscape Development.
Carrie acts as a quality-control gatekeeper of sorts, bridging the waters between the creatives inside our architectural design team and the structural realities that each project requires. She shares office space with Andy and Mike but she’s equally suited for a spot in the west wing with our operations manager, Adam.
EMELY PROIOS
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER
Emely began her journey with us as an intern in our design department during her final semester of college. Her outstanding work ethic and attention to detail was impressive, leading us to offer her a full-time position.
With an Associates Degree in Architecture under her belt, Emely has embraced her new role with enthusiasm, taking on a diverse range of responsibilities. From crafting early-stage design renderings to meticulously helping with budget sets and construction documents, her work has been consistent and productive.
Aside from her professional skills, Emely’s positive attitude and eagerness to learn has been a welcome addition to our office. We look forward to watching her continued growth and her expanding contributions to our process.
SAM KLEMENS
SOCIAL MEDIA
Big wave surfer fresh off a five-year stint in Bali, Sam has nearly a decade’s worth of marketing and web design experience.
At Timberbuilt he produces videos for the YouTube channel, handles client inquiries and keeps the Pinterest page humming along like a finely tuned V8.
He also keeps track of Missy, the official Timberbuilt dog. She hangs out on the second floor of the office patiently waiting for people to give her treats.
On the weekends Sam takes advantage of Timberbuilt’s fully stocked workshop to build interesting furniture. With thousands of pounds of wood stacked in the corner it’s his responsibility to put that Douglas fir, black walnut and maple to good use.