Our staff

Cynthia, a Pasadena native, is founder and President of CBA.  Graduating from U.C. Berkeley with a major in English and a minor in Fine Arts, she started her career in New York in book publishing and originally intended to be a writer.  Moving to the Netherlands in 1964, her interest and involvement in architectural remodeling, renovation and space planning began.  She found she had a strong talent for construction and design, rebuilding and remodeling several of her own homes in The Netherlands where she lived for 15 years.  After returning to the United States in 1979, Cynthia attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles to study interior design.  She also attended UCLA for architecture courses with remodeling and space planning as her goal,  as well as taking every course offered by the National Kitchen & Bath Association with kitchen and bath remodeling as a specialty.

She started her own company, Cynthia Bennett and Associates in 1981, and became a General Contractor in 1983.  Cynthia has been a board member of the American Building Contractor’s Association, is a 20-year member of the National Kitchen and Bath Associates, member of the Association for Women in Architecture, and most recently sits on the board of the Pasadena Playhouse. She is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers and is a Certified Interior Designer in the State of California. She holds both a personal contractor’s license as well as a corporate contractor’s license in the state of California.

Her own personal home was designed and built in 2002 by Cynthia Bennett & Associates, Inc. and has been showcased in numerous home and garden tours including the 2003 ASID Kitchen and Interiors Tour, the Pasadena Philharmonic Christmas Tour and the Creative Arts Garden & Home Tour.  The home has been featured in Traditional Homes Magazine, California Design, Kitchen & Bath Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens and was recently published in a UK magazine titled, 25 Most Beautiful Homes.

Goli Karimi,
Vice President

Goli joined the company in 1993 with a background in interior/architectural design and residential construction.  Goli earned a BA in Interior Architecture from the University of Louisiana and completed her course work for a Master’s Program in Landscape Architecture at LSU.  Goli oversees the architectural design, estimating and construction departments at CBA.  Her functional and creative space planning and practical construction experience is applied to all CBA commissions. Goli served on the Board of Pasadena Chapter of American Society of Interior Designers during 2003-2005.  Her love of nature and outdoors is expressed through volunteering for the Eaton Canyon Nature Center for the last 15 years.

Chris has been working hard to keep the company books since 2006. He enjoys amateur astronomy, reading about ancient cultures and science fiction, traveling, outdoor activities and music (plays and teaches guitar).  He has two university degrees: a BS from the University of Rochester, New York and a BA in accounting from the American University in Cairo, Egypt.  While studying and working in Cairo, Chris met his wife, who was working as a local tour guide to the famous temples and ruins. They plan on children in the near future, but until then, enjoy their toy poodle.

Robert Lyons
Project Manager

Robert has experience in cabinetry, machining, welding, locksmithing, plumbing, electrical, specialty finishes, hardware design, fiberglass fabrication, masonry, heavy equipment operation, and many others. These skills make him well suited to ensure quality craftsmanship as he works with our sub-contractors to come up with innovative solutions for our custom projects. His goal is to provide our customers with the highest quality product possible in an efficient time frame. Robert enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.

Doreen Gonzalez
Designer

Doreen has been with CBA since 2004, and is responsible for transferring all field measuring and hand sketches to computer aided drawings. Doreeen creates visual drawings for material layouts and construction drawings to help both our designers and clients better visualize the job at hand.  She has a BA degree from the Design Institute of San Diego and an AA from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Los Angeles CA. Doreen has always been fond of drawing and painting with a variety of mediums, and applies her artistic talents to creating beautiful CAD creations.

Timothy Trevor Clark
Architect

After graduating from Syracuse University School of Architecture, Tim specialized in residential design and had offices in Vail, CO and Manchester, VT. He is currently licensed as an architect in California and Colorado. In addition to his office architectural duties, he also works as construction project manager and in office sales. An avid outdoorsman, professional ski instructor, kayak instructor, and raft guide , his current playground is the San Gabriel Mountains where he “rips it up” on his mountain bike. He resides in South Pasadena with his sons, Matthew and Reade, and plays a mean harmonica.

Carolien Fehmers
Interior Designer

Carolien runs the Interior Design Department at CBA, together with Cynthia Bennett. Prior to joining the firm, Carolien worked in sales for companies such as Gucci, Prada, and Karl Lagerfeld. She also spent several years managing an Aveda store in Beverly Hills. Carolien has a natural talent for colors and materials. Her approach is to listen carefully to her client’s needs and then interpret their wishes into designs that make their lives more beautiful and functional. When she’s not working long hours at CBA, Carolien can be found riding her horse Beaulicious in the Arroyo Seco area of Pasadena, or working on her newly
                                                  remodeled house.

Nicole Goodwin
Office Manager

Nicole joined CBA in early 2011 with a background in administration and the arts. She earned her BA in Theater Design from California Polytechnic University of Pomona and continuously uses her artistic skills to find creative solutions to her everyday duties. Nicole cheerfully welcomes clients, subcontractors and representatives, helps Project Managers on a variety of levels, and functions as Cynthia’s personal assistant to boot. Outside of work, Nicole enjoys sewing and crafting, and spending time with her dog Emily.

Nancy Sechrest
Estimator

A Home Economics degree from the University of Illinois has given Nancy a number of career opportunities beyond her first interest in Interior Design. Before she joined Cynthia Bennett & Associates in 1989 as a space planner she had worked as a kitchen designer, director of consumer affairs for a New Jersey supermarket chain, owned a retail fabric store and remodeled several of her own homes. Nancy spent over 10 years as a full-time employee working in the design and construction departments at CBA. Retirement felt funny, so she rejoined the firm several years ago to work part-time doing bidding and estimating.

Stephanie Daniels
Marketing and Materials Assistant

Stephanie is nearing completion of UCLA’s Professional Level Program in Interior Design. Prior to entering the design world, Stephanie worked in fundraising and development for some of the nation’s leading nonprofits. She has a B.A. in French from the University of Florida and has pursued graduate level advertising work. At Cynthia Bennett and Associates, Stephanie is responsible for assisting Cynthia with her daily work, overseeing all marketing and advertising opportunities for the company, managing the materials library and meeting with vendors regarding new materials. When not working, Stephanie enjoys cooking, hiking, film and traveling..