Alex Lofton's entrepreneurial journey started long before he ever knew the concept of a business plan. In fact, he did not realize it at the time, but his earliest experiences in childhood gave him the background and understanding of a problem (and how to solve it) that would lead Alex down the entrepreneurial path. Alex has since served in leadership positions at numerous social enterprises and technology start-ups in D.C., London, and San Francisco.

Alex is a proud product of Bellevue Public Schools in his native Washington state; he believes in the productive potential of design, compassion, and digital technology. He worked as a member of Barack Obama's field team in 2007 and 2008, managing hundreds of paid staff who organized thousands of volunteers for the then-Senator's successful presidential primary and general election campaigns. Alex then served as a Founding Regional Director of Obama for America – the political mobilization wing of the Democratic National Committee – until 2010.

Alex got his start in real estate at real estate developer Forest City (now Brookfield Properties). He holds a B.A. from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Alex splits his time between his native Seattle and Landed’s headquarters in San Francisco, and he and his husband spend their decompression time outdoors, on the dance floor, or playing the “funcles” (fun-uncles) role.

Andrew Ho is a software engineer who loves working on products that empower and create opportunities for others. He is a proud Bay Area native who is passionate about finding ways to give back to his community. He’s worked at companies of all sizes — before joining Landed, he worked at a small fintech startup and a large e-commerce company. Andrew holds a B.S. from UC Berkeley.

Andrew Senior is a proud resident of Boston, MA who loves helping others and building genuine connections. As a product of a public school education, he believes providing educators with the financial freedom and flexibility to remain in the communities they serve is an impactful step we can take to improve student outcomes. Prior to joining Landed, Andrew worked with K-12 public school districts and saw firsthand the challenges schools face to recruit and retain talent. He holds a degree in Marketing and Sociology from UMass Amherst and firmly believes that laughter is the very best medicine.

Angie Kearns is Head Broker at Landed, one of the fastest growing fintech real estate companies in the country. Landed is on a mission to help essential professionals build financial security near the communities they serve.

Angie is determined and driven to ensure that people in marginalized and disenfranchised communities receive equitable treatment when it comes to real estate and life. A pivotal time in Angie’s life was in 1995, when as a daycare center owner and commercial property lessee, she was forced to relocate her business. She had a lease agreement that did not protect her from retaining possession of the property because of eminent domain and significant monetary loss. Despite these unforeseen challenges, Angie’s commitment to providing quality daycare led her to purchase a home and transition her business into a home-based group daycare center. Yet again, she found herself in another real estate transaction that did not fully protect her interests. 

It did not take Angie long to realize the one constant in both transactions - she was the only minority party. Feelings of inequities and isolation in these transactions, along with considerable economic loss, fueled Angie’s determination to increase her real estate knowledge. Through tribulation comes triumph. Angie’s losses helped her gain the resilience and tenacity to change careers and became a real estate agent and broker. The primary objective of becoming a real estate agent was to protect other minorities from unfair treatment, and the lack of knowledge in matters related to real estate. In August 2019, Angie was introduced to Landed. The opportunity to become the principal broker at Landed aligned with her mission to empower others to build generational wealth through real estate, while being of service as an agent/broker, especially to marginalized communities.

Angie Kearns is a native Philadelphian, a divorced single parent of two, and a Georgia resident of more than 20 years.

Annie Vasishta is an educator, community organizer, and most of all, a student of life. Since moving to the United States from Punjab, India at a young age, Annie connects her roots from her motherland to the community of South Hayward, where she grew up. Growing up as a low-income, first-generation woman of color, Annie finds it important to give back to the community that raised her. Vasishta believes the youth are our future and the best way to love her community is to serve the youth, which led her to be an AmeriCorps Member with City Year in Boston, work at Teach For America Bay Area, and work as an Urban Leaders Fellow with the City of Oakland.

David Jerome is a software engineer, born and raised in North Carolina, with a passion for programming and solving tough problems.

Before joining Landed, he worked at a small company focusing on compensation software, and before that, a large financial services company.

David holds a B.S. in Computer Science from North Carolina State University.

Emily Baker was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She has her BA in Classics and MA in Education from the University of Colorado. After a brief foray in the publishing world, Emily found herself in the classroom teaching 4th grade and then Middle School English. While the everyday joys of teaching were incredibly rewarding, Emily was forced to pursue other careers in light of the financial realities of being an educator. Eventually, she made the difficult decision to leave teaching officially and pursue Real Estate. Emily did the bulk of her Real Estate work with teachers, including working as a Landed Partner agent since their expansion to Denver. It was through this partnership that Emily realized she wanted to work with Landed in a full-time capacity. Today, Emily is so excited to be starting her career with Landed and truly achieve her goal of making a difference in the lives of educators!

Fred Yu loves story telling - especially when it's filled with numbers and charts. Moving from Hong Kong to the US at the age of 17, has instilled a passion in him for challenges faced by new immigrants especially in housing and education. Fred is involved in high school scholarship and mentorship organizations, and sharing his experiences and advice with students at events hosted by those organizations. Prior to Landed, he worked in the finance industry as a portfolio analyst and software developer who managed and analyzed investment portfolios. He holds a BS and MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon. He is also a CFA charterholder. 

Henry Demasco grew up in the Boston area, but has lived in San Francisco since 2016. Henry leads brand marketing at Landed, bringing experience from various marketing roles at two other venture-backed real estate brokerages (Compass and Side). He began his career in the creative agency world, and is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh and Oxford University.

Ian Magruder is a former startup executive and campaign director who is dedicated to bringing people together to improve communities. Prior to Landed, he led the Business Development team at Organizer, a mobile field management app used by nonprofits, schools, unions, and political campaigns for community organizing. Ian is active in the Bay Area community and spent two years at Co-Director of the San Francisco New Leaders Council, training the next generation of young professionals seeking to create social change. He is also engaged in policy as a Truman National Security Partner and a former Public Policy and International Fellow at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School. Ian graduated magna cum laude in Political Economy from UC Berkeley as a Regents’ and Chancellor's Scholar.

Jack Woodruff makes his home in Oakland, California, where he was born and raised. He comes to Landed by way of his years teaching and managing in the education sector, where educational inequity often traces back to housing inequity. Jack holds a BA in History from Bard College and is currently earning an MBA at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. He has served as an educator and policy analyst in classroom, government, nonprofit, and corporate contexts, and is Board Chair of Aspire Education, a Bay Area nonprofit. Any of Jack's spare time goes to surfing, kayaking, camping, mixing cocktails, belting jazz standards, and bouncing his baby nephew on his knee.

Jah'von Whitaker is a Florida native with a love for summertime and the beach. Upon graduating from the University of Central Florida with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Mass Communication he moved to Washington, DC where he started his career in property management. Leasing apartments and managing properties from the outskirts of The District of Colombia to Pennsylvania Ave. He has worked professionally in the property management industry in both Washington, DC and New York City, where he currently lives. Prior to joining Landed, Jah’von worked at a startup in New York City where he worked with people from all walks of life looking to call The Big Apple their home as well. Both in traditional apartments and coliving, he has always enjoyed real estate, architecture, and design but more so has a passion for helping others find a place they will enjoy calling home.

Jaimelynne Cruz is a former elementary school educator and real estate investor. She graduated from the University of California, Irvine with degrees in economics and sociology. She has a graduate degree in education and an MBA from the University of Hawaiʻi, Manoa. Previously, Jaime spent some time in Chicago as a Teach for America Corps Member. As a teacher, she taught at Chicago Public Schools, Kamaile Academy, and Kamehameha Schools. She was also an instructor for Johns Hopkins University School of Education for several years. In her free time, she loves to travel, hike, and swim in the ocean.

James Cleveland knows what it takes to build high-impact teams and engaged cultures in ground-breaking mission-driven organizations. He has held leadership roles in a variety of positions, including strategic growth, fundraising, and operations and talent development at leading high-growth high-impact organizations.

Prior to joining Landed, James successfully served in executive level leadership roles at Guild Education, the Entangled Group, Reading Partners, College Track, Aspire Public Schools, and the Stupski Foundation, resulting in a 20+ year track record of achieving strategic growth through operations and talent development in nationally-focused education organizations. Additionally, James co-founded InsideTrack, a nationally recognized Student Success company, and was instrumental in growing Jumpstart, a national pre-K literacy organization, from 35 employees to over 200 employees and raising the organization’s value from $6 million to $18 million through his strategic and operational leadership.

James holds a B.S. from Stanford University, where he met the women of his dreams... which he figured out a mere 20 years later. They are finally married with two amazing, strong girls who keep them busy with school, games, sports, and the great outdoors.

Jess Zhao loves her day job: helping essential professionals buy homes. She believes that our communities will be happier and healthier when all humans have access to transformative opportunities like education, health, safety, and homeownership. Prior to joining Landed, Jess started her career in management consulting at Monitor Group, where she focused on helping nonprofits and foundations explore new models to increase access to financial and educational opportunities. Her experience spans stints at edtech media company EdSurge and College Track, a national program that empowers students from underserved communities to graduate from college. She is a proud Northwestern alum, where she graduated with a degree in Economics and Psychology, and a love for cities.

Jesse Vaughan believes in the power of building wealth to help people free themselves from fear. Money may not buy happiness, but confidence that one can feed and house their family is vital to feeling secure. Prior to returning to his home state of California, Jesse was based in Yangon, Myanmar where he helped to arrange $300M of social impact investments. Jesse holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from New York University, and in 2018, he was listed in Forbes 30 Under 30.

Jessica Liu is a data nerd and community advocate who hails from the Bay Area. Jessica first heard about Landed from fellow edtech colleagues and was immediately intrigued by its premise. Housing inequities seem inherent to the Bay, but Landed sounded like a real, viable way to escape that destiny. Jessica is thrilled to be a part of the team and support its mission to uphold those who uphold us. Before Landed, Jessica lived a few different lives as a Software Engineer, a startup Product Manager, a middle school Coding Instructor, a non-profit Program Manager, and a Marketing Consultant. She's not 100% sure what she wants to be when she grows up but absolutely loves where she is today. 

Joe Akanesuvan is a recent graduate with a passion for programming and data science. Before Landed, he was a backend engineer intern at an LA-based startup that helps connect people from local communities. Joe holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Statistics from the University of California Davis and is originally from Bangkok, Thailand.

Jonathan Asmis is a former strategy consultant and engineer who expects more from finance. His experience includes stints at Accenture – where he worked on projects across health, nonprofit, and retail industries – as well as Tesla Motors and Sanofi Pasteur. Jonathan holds master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Engineering from the University of Toronto as well as an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

Joyce Truong has a deep professional interest in creatively leveraging private markets for social good. Her parents and sisters also work together in a family residential real estate business, primarily serving the Vietnamese community in Los Angeles. Working at Landed allows Joyce to fulfill both her professional and personal interests on a daily basis. 

Julia Samaniego began her career in real estate at the age of 17, which happened to be the same year the housing crisis hit. Despite that, she ended up staying in the profession for 13 years. Julia ventured into other fields for a short period but real estate has always been a passion of hers.

Giving back and being an advocate for others is a big part of what drew her to Landed. The idea of staying in her field while helping people build financial security at a company that upholds many of the same values was a no brainer. Youth issues and the protection of children has always been an important issue to Julia. In the past she has volunteered as a child advocate in Los Angeles, and hopes to continue to fight the fight for the little ones who can't. She has a Bachelors in Management from Pepperdine University and an MBA from Cal State Los Angeles, although she very much would have rather gone to Hogwarts. 

Kathy Denning's career has been in Mobility and Real Estate - industries she was attracted to due to her personal experience moving internationally as a child. Her career has focused on business development including securing new accounts, developing existing accounts, implementing innovative ways to leverage technology to drive business, and creating sales enhancement and development programs for employees and independent contractors. She was attracted to Landed's core values of acting with humility and finding what's fair. Her greatest joy at work is helping people around her grow and succeed. She received her Bachelor's in English Literature at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN, and her MBA from Saint Mary's College in Moraga, CA. She has lived in Canada, the US, Scotland, Singapore, Malaysia, and Sweden. She loves kayaking, collecting fishing lures, and fiber arts. 

Kathryn Rees is a lifelong learner and educator who is passionate about building healthy, inclusive communities. Before joining Landed, she taught middle school math in Baltimore through Teach for America. She has also worked in policy and communications—first, as an intern with the Obama White House Domestic Policy Council and, later, as a consultant at RALLY, a social impact strategy, and communications firm. Kathryn holds a B.A. in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

Katie Hawkes is a Washington, DC area native turned Coloradan. As the daughter of a 30-year preschool teacher and a former educator herself, Katie has a deep belief in the power of great teaching. She began her career as a 5th grade science teacher with KIPP Colorado Schools, where she later led hiring for the entire network of schools. She also helped establish and ran operations for the Relay Graduate School of Education Denver campus, which offers pathways into teaching in Colorado. 

Lauren Goettge was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received her BA in French Studies from Sewanee; The University of the South and her MA in Educational Psychology from the University of Colorado. Lauren moved to Colorado in 2010 to pursue her graduate studies and live closer to family. She spent ten years in the classroom teaching the youngest learners in both private and public Early Childhood Education Programs. While she was a teacher she partnered with Landed to purchase her house. By partnering with Landed Lauren was able to buy a home in the neighborhood where she taught and loved dearly. Lauren wants to be able to help essential workers invest in the areas they serve and help them feel educated and empowered in their home buying journey.

Loni Fa prides himself on being a husband to a wonderful wife and a father to three beautiful children (ages 2, 3, and 5). Much of his life surrounds their well-being and his belief is that it all starts in the Home. This belief is the motivating factor in his transition from working in local government to now helping other families find a home for themselves. During his time in local government, Loni worked in the recreation field managing adult and youth programs for the local community. Loni is a San Jose State University (#SpartanUp) graduate in which he received his BS in Recreation Management. Loni currently serves in his local church congregation in which he works with the kids and youth. Outside of his church family and church service, Loni enjoys playing sports (basketball, football, volleyball), listening to music, and enjoying all kinds of foods. Loni is beyond grateful to be part of the Landed family. 

Maria Maxfield has been a real estate agent in the Bay Area for over 15 years and has assisted many first-time homebuyers in navigating the homebuying process. Her experience in real estate includes working as a real estate appraiser and loan officer. Prior to becoming a realtor, she worked as a graphics/production manager for an investment company that was a leading manager of emerging businesses (women/minority-owned and small firms) where she developed a wealth of knowledge in customer service and marketing. Maria graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in business. She grew up in the Philippines and has called the Bay Area home for over 36 years.

Maryann Salt is the Down Payment Program Operations Manager. She has 20 years of overall experience in real estate and finance. Prior to Landed, she's worked in mortgage tech and digital originations on the retail and wholesale side. Maryann holds an MSc in Financial Analysis & Investment Management from the College of Saint Mary’s where she later joined Morgan Stanley. The top reason for joining Landed is for its mission-driven purpose and impact work to remove barriers to homeownership. 

Michelle Murphy is a Denver native and proud graduate of Denver Public Schools. She studied sociology at Grinnell College in Iowa where she cultivated her passion for social justice. She moved to San Francisco during the housing crisis and witnessed the toll unaffordable living took on her friends and family, especially those who were working in education and mental health. Michelle worked in senior social services with an organization in the Tenderloin that provided housing for seniors and helped fight unlawful evictions. Before Landed, she spent the past few years working in crisis counseling where she taught and coached volunteers how to show up for people’s hardest moments in life with empathy and care. She feels strongly about bringing that same
level of empathy to teachers and essential workers who might feel exhausted by their homebuying journey. Michelle learned about Landed from former high school classmates and wanted to join a company where she believed in the mission and trusted the team of folks assembled to bring it to fruition.

Nam-Chi Van is a software engineer, born and raised in California, with a passion for photography and skateboarding. Before joining Landed, she worked at Eventbrite as an early employee where she helped build the product to be one of the top in the events space. Her passion for skateboarding has pushed her to become one of the first well-known female photographers in the industry. As the photography market becomes more saturated, Nam-Chi continues to stay on top with her documentary style and post-processing techniques. She holds a BS for Web Design and Interactive Media from The Art Institute of San Diego.

Norma Hilary Gibson is a former educator who believes that teaching and learning don’t stop inside the classroom. She began her career as a high school Special Educator with Denver Public Schools through Teach for America and later transitioned to teaching middle school English with Denver School of Science and Technology. Since leaving the classroom, she has continued to work with social impact organizations including the Connecticut Mental Health Center Foundation, Yale University’s Office of Strategic Analysis, and Simplifi (now Summer). Norma holds a B.A. from Wheaton College (IL), an M.Ed. from University of Colorado, and an MBA from Yale School of Management.

Rochelle Satchell aka Ro is Landed's Agent Network Manager. When she is not working; she is an advocate for peace and non-violence. Ro is committed to serving the needs of individuals and families affected by violence. Her work advocating against violence is a labor of love. Ro found herself thrust into violence prevention activism after her sister, a victim of domestic violence was murdered by her husband.  She and her family created the Peace+Love brand to increase awareness of the issue of violence and the impact it has on families and communities in this country and abroad. The brand mark for Peace+Love is featured in her image.  Her advocacy work and her commitment to honoring her Sister's life eventually led to the arrest and conviction of her Sister's husband.  Ro and is a married mother of 5 through marriage.  When Ro isn't working or advocating for Peace, Love, and non-violence you can rest assured she is probably enjoying time on the beach with her husband.

Saige Clawson is a Utah native who is passionate about utilizing innovation to preserve housing affordability in her home state, which is what brought her to Landed. She knows that her path in life has been made possible because of the amazing educators in her own community, and she is driven by this truth. Prior to Landed, Saige focused on researching innovations in housing at Ivory Innovations, and hopes to be an innovative force in the housing industry herself. Saige is a proud Utah State University ‘Aggie’, where she graduated with a B.S. in Political Science.  

Sarah Griffith is a product manager who has worked in the financial services industry for the last 15+ years. Sarah graduated from the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University and recently joined Landed after holding various roles at Capital One. She is excited to help the Landed team continue to build great products to help essential professionals achieve homeownership and financial security. In her free time, Sarah spends time with her 2 kids, reads, mentors teen moms and is slowly renovating her 1960s era home. She currently lives outside of Washington DC but is loyal to Philadelphia sports teams (go birds!)

Scott McCain is a proud husband and father of three daughters who are on a path to becoming essential professionals (doctor, teacher, engineer). It is their experience that motivated him to make a career pivot to join Landed's mission and spread the word to help as many of their peers as possible achieve financial security. Scott came to Landed after 30 years in the corporate relocation industry, including senior leadership roles in sales and client relations. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont (Go Catamounts!) where he earned a BA in Economics. More importantly, he met his wife. Scott has served in a number of volunteer organizations including as an officer with the Rotary Club whose slogan is "Service Above Self". Passions after faith and family include skiing, tennis, walks, mountains, and beaches on a cool day.

Shannon McQueen is an educator and advocate. She has a Masters degree in education and has been an administrator and teacher in public, refugee magnate, private, and international schools. Shannon was most recently the Regional Coordinator at Denver Public Schools. Originally from Colorado, Shannon attended Emerson College in Boston where she majored in Political Communications. She interned at the British Parliament and worked on several campaigns including the Obama campaign, where she met her husband at a Caucus training.  

Shannon feels honored to have worked with individuals from across the globe. She is inspired by teachers who dare to stand up for themselves and make changes in their own lives, even when change is challenging. Shannon wants to improve the lives of teachers in ways that are culturally responsible, fair, and empowering.

Born in Venezuela and raised in Miami, FL, Verónica completed her undergraduate degree in Bilingual Education at Boston University. Her work within various schools in the Boston area fostered her passion and dedication to high quality education for English language learners.  Upon graduating, Vero moved to New York City where she served as a teacher and college advisor, partnering with families, colleges, and outside organizations, supporting many students to become the first members of their families to attend college. After earning a MST in ESOL K-12 at Fordham University, Vero moved to México, where she taught English language and literature at an International Baccalaureate school.  In addition to classroom teaching, she served as an instructional coach and curriculum developer in DC Public Schools, and was the Academic Director for College Track-Aurora, a college access and success non-profit.  Before joining Landed, Vero worked at MSU Denver as the ESL and Student Support Specialist within the Immigrant Services Program. 

Zoe Huang is a data analyst, born and raised in China, with a passion for both work and life. Before joining Landed, she worked as an electrical engineer in the medical device manufacturing industry, helping develop reliable and affordable PET-CT scanners for developing countries. Zoe holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University.