Staff Directory for
Craig Lawson & Co., LLC
310-838-2400 Phone
310-838-2424 Fax

Craig Lawson, craig@craiglawson.com, Ext. 104

   Staff Member

Email Address

Phone Extension

Craig Lawson - President

James Ries - Senior Vice President

Donna Shen Tripp - Vice President

         Prior to joining Craig Lawson & Co., LLC, Donna was the Regional Manager at Schmitz & Associates, Inc., specializing in Coastal and hillside projects throughout Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange County.   During her over 10 years at Schmitz & Associates, Donna not only managed all operational functions and staff at the company, she also prepared development feasibility analyses for hundreds of sites in the aforementioned communities, as well as successfully represented and secured discretionary approvals for dozens of complex, multi-jurisdictional development projects.  These projects ranged from high-end residential estate homes in the Santa Monica Mountains to agricultural and equestrian facilities, and from municipal park projects to urban commercial projects.  

         Donna also served as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Community Planning and Development (CPD) at the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department in the late-1990s.  While at HUD, Donna was very involved with CPD’s affordable housing, homeless assistance, community planning and economic development programs and grants. A member of the Urban Land Institute and American Planning Association, Donna obtained her Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, her Masters of Science degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, and her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego.

Andie Adame - Senior Project Manager

Katherine Casey - Project Manager

Alexander Irvine - Project Manager

         While at Craig Lawson & Co., LLC, Alex has helped entitle some of our clients’ largest projects including over 4,000 residential units in both adaptive reuse and ground-up projects.  He has represented clients in stakeholder meetings, numerous public hearings, and is exceptional at managing multiple projects.  Some notable projects include, the Ventura Boulevard ‘Ralphs Sherman Oaks’ project, which included a series of controversial entitlement requests in the Ventura/Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan area; the Astani Enterprises ‘8th & Grand’ project (875 residential condo units and 11 commercial condo units in three towers), and the ‘Concerto’ project (629 condo units in two towers), the Holland Partners ‘Good Sam’ project (648 residential apartment units and 39,996 square feet of commercial) in the Central City West Specific Plan project area, the Adaptive Reuse of the 611 W. 6th Street building (432 JLWQ condo units and 135 commercial condos), the Abode Communities ‘Ivy Terrace’ project (52 low and very low income units), and various projects in the Downtown LA Industrial ‘Arts District’ area. Alex’s experience includes zoning research, feasibility analyses, entitlement application preparation and processing, government relations, mitigation monitoring, working closely with project architects, land use attorneys, civil/traffic engineers, and other consultants.

         Alex is a member of the American Planning Association (APA), where he currently serves on the Executive Board for the Los Angeles Chapter of the APA, and helped support the efforts of the Host Committee for the 2012 APA National Conference in Los Angeles.  Alex received his Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies and Planning from California State University, Northridge.

Noah Adler - Associate Project Manager

         Noah joined Craig Lawson & Co., LLC in January of 2012.  Noah specializes in the research, preparation, processing and monitoring of land use entitlement applications for a wide variety of projects across the City of Los Angeles.  He is presently managing the entitlements for a complex mixed use development project that includes senior housing, retail, office, and social service uses.

         Prior to joining Craig Lawson & Co., LLC, Noah received his Bachelor’s degree (cum laude) from New York University where he double majored in Urban Design & Architecture Studies and Metropolitan Studies, and from which he graduated with honors for his thesis on community participation in the public review process in New York City.  While in New York, Noah worked in the zoning and land use entitlements field for two years and also interned with the Department of City Planning, the Skyscraper Museum, and Curbed.

Lauren Finkel - Assistant Project Manager

Jessica Hencier - Assistant Project Manager

         With experience in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, Jessica brings a holistic and dynamic approach to solving complex planning issues facing cities today. Jessica joined Craig Lawson & Co., LLC in August of 2014. Since joining the company, Jessica has conducted zoning and land use analyses, and prepared and managed the processing of discretionary entitlement requests for several projects.

         Prior to joining Craig Lawson & Co., LLC, Jessica was an Associate with Urban One where she provided a range of services for planning and development projects. For the Downtown L.A. Streetcar Project, she was responsible for coordination of the environmental review, which included working with consulting and engineering teams as well as all City departments to review technical documents and maintain the environmental clearance schedule. Before that, Jessica worked with the University of Southern California’s Real Estate and Asset Management Department. At USC Real Estate, Jessica was responsible for assisting in compliance with the mitigation measures of the USC Specific Plan and items of the Development Agreement, including matters related to Historic Preservation, Transportation and Circulation, and Urban Design. She has also worked with the City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation Bicycle and Pedestrian programs.

         Additionally, Jessica is actively involved in Los Angeles Councilmember Jose Huizar’s Bringing Back Broadway initiative, serving as the Chair of the 2015 “Night on Broadway” committee and sitting on the Planning and Land Use and Marketing and Economic Development committees. Jessica is also actively involved in the Urban Land Institute Los Angeles (ULI-LA) and is the Co-Chair of the Case Studies and Site Tours Programs Committee.

         Jessica earned her Master of Urban Planning degree at the University of Southern California, concentrating in both Transportation and the Preservation and Design of the Built Environment. She also holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Sociology from Whittier College.

Shane Swerdlow - Assistant Project Manager

Terry Peters - Administrative Manager