Meet the

MAK Team

Ken

Owner
Admin Team

Ken Kirsch has over 30 years of experience in residential remodeling. His work in the trades began while still a student at UC Davis. Ken graduated from UCD with a degree in Studio Arts and put his liberal arts education to use as a carpenter working in the Bay Area. Over the years, remodeling became as much of a passion for Ken as his artistic pursuits. Creative solutions were always part of a remodeler’s job description and a thoughtful approach to building presented another opportunity to have a positive influence on every day life.

Ken and Ellen relocated their growing family to Davis in 2001 and then started MAK Design+Build in 2003. Ken is a member of two national trade organizations, Remodeler’s Advantage and the National Association of Remodeling Industry. He is also a member of the Davis Downtown Business Association, the Davis Chamber of Commerce and a member of Cool Davis, an organization committed to implementing the City of Davis’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. He earned his certification as a green-building professional through the non-profit organization Build It Green. Ken also served on the Shrem Museum Artfriends executive board and currently serves on the board of the Pence Gallery.

For fun, he loves working on his golf game, playing ultimate Frisbee, trying out new cooking recipes and exercising his creativity with the occasional illustration, oil painting or watercolor.

Ellen

Owner and Account Manager
Admin Team

Ellen is the co-owner of MAK Design+Build Inc. Along with Ken she is the lead on “big picture” thinking for the company, tasked with making sure that MAK remains a strong part of the Davis and Yolo County community as an employer, a resource for excellent and responsible design and construction, and an ongoing contributor via support of a number of charitable organizations. Day to day Ellen oversees the financial management of the company. She keeps the bills paid, reports filed and the licensing, insurance and tax requirements up to date.

Outside of the business Ellen is a wife, mother, and avid gardener who enjoys the challenge/process of working with nature and time. 

Vivi

Director of Operations
Admin Team

Vivi is the Director of Operations for MAK Design & Build - which means she's the person in charge of making sure both internally and externally MAK is a positive, productive force. She manages all things client-facing, while also providing support for the transition of a project from sales to design and then design to construction. Vivi works to ensure that prospective clients are made aware of MAK's system and processes as well as the many benefits of working with a design + build firm. She also helps to coordinate projects in their early stages, working with clients to ensure that their goals are outlined in the early project planning stages. She is a recent UC Berkeley graduate where she received a BA in Political Science and minors in both Education and Global Poverty & Practice. She has a passion for people and believes in the power of storytelling which is what she loves about seeing a project from conception to completion and her client-facing role. She has previously worked in marketing and program management for multiple non-profits, public sector organizations, as well as a public affairs forum. She brings her skills from each of those sectors to her work at MAK.

Her favorite part of working for MAK is the fact that she is now working for the company she grew up alongside - as she is Ken & Ellen's daughter! She has quite literally been with the company since the beginning and knows the voice and values of MAK in a way very few do.