About Us

Aubrey Phillibert brings an unusual combination of economics, real estate leadership, construction management, building science, sustainability, and organizational thinking to Kellets. He graduated summa cum laude in the top one percent of his class from the Commonwealth Honors College at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he studied Economics and completed departmental honors. His undergraduate thesis, A Case Study of the Caribbean Basin Initiative: Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago, examined economic development through a subject that also connected deeply to his Jamaican heritage. That work earned recognition from the National Science Foundation and became part of an academic path focused on the relationship between economics, communities, opportunity, and the places people live.

Aubrey went on to pursue postgraduate studies in economics at Duke University, where his research interests turned toward the powerful relationship between housing and human outcomes. His work explored how the neighborhoods people grow up in, and even something as seemingly simple as a zip code, can influence educational attainment, economic opportunity, health, life expectancy, and long term quality of life. His studies drew on the broader neighborhood effects literature, including research examining whether concentrated communities help or hinder the people who live within them. That experience helped shape a belief that has followed him throughout his career: buildings and neighborhoods are never just physical structures. They directly affect people's lives.

After college, Aubrey entered the real estate industry working with a developer on major development projects before beginning a 17 year career with FirstService Residential. Over that period he progressed through increasingly senior management and people leadership positions, including Managing Director and Vice President. His career was centered not simply on managing properties, but on managing people, projects, clients, budgets, buildings, and the competing priorities that come with complex residential environments.

For more than a decade, Aubrey managed and oversaw multimillion dollar capital improvement projects throughout Manhattan. His work required coordination among boards, owners, architects, engineers, consultants, contractors, building personnel, residents, and internal teams while maintaining control of budgets, schedules, contracts, communication, and project risk. At the same time, he led teams of property managers and other professionals responsible for some of New York City's most demanding residential properties. By the time he became Vice President, he was overseeing a management team responsible for a portfolio of more than 2,500 residential units. Publicly documented initiatives under his leadership also produced millions of dollars in energy related savings.

That experience became an important foundation for Kellets. Aubrey spent years sitting on the owner's side of the table and learned to view construction from the perspective of the people responsible for the property, the money, the residents, and ultimately the outcome. He saw that successful projects depend as much on leadership, preparation, communication, documentation, financial discipline, and accountability as they do on the physical work itself. He also saw firsthand how stressful construction becomes when those things are missing.

His work increasingly focused on capital planning, energy conservation, building systems, infrastructure, and long term asset performance. As his career moved deeper into construction, Aubrey continued his formal training in construction management, site safety, scaffolding, HVAC and refrigerant systems, and general contracting. Kellets grew from that combination of institutional project management, technical curiosity, hands on construction experience, and a desire to create a better experience for homeowners.

The idea behind Kellets is straightforward: homeowners deserve the same level of planning, management, documentation, financial control, and accountability that should exist on the largest and most complicated capital projects. Aubrey's role therefore extends well beyond estimating or supervising construction. He works with the team on project strategy, problem solving, systems, technology, client experience, financial management, organizational development, and the continual improvement of how Kellets operates.

Aubrey believes a construction company should also be a learning organization. Problems should be examined rather than hidden. People should understand why they are doing something, not simply be told what to do. Information should move freely enough for good decisions to be made, and lessons from one project should become improvements on the next. Technology and artificial intelligence increasingly support that philosophy at Kellets, but for Aubrey the purpose of technology is ultimately human: better information, clearer communication, better decisions, less uncertainty, and a stronger relationship between the homeowner and the people working in their home.

Away from construction, Aubrey's curiosity has taken him into areas that do not normally appear on a contractor's résumé. He is a former EMT, and during a flight to Jamaica he once found himself putting that training to use when a passenger suffered a serious medical emergency. The experience reinforced something that has followed him from economics to property management to construction: preparation matters, knowledge has value when it can be put into practice, and when circumstances require someone to take responsibility, you step forward.

That philosophy sits at the center of Kellets today. Build carefully. Think critically. Communicate clearly. Keep learning. Take responsibility. And leave both the project and the organization better than you found them.

Alongside her senior career in higher education, Lanna Gaye works closely with Kellets leadership as a trusted advisor, helping shape business direction, strengthen communication, think through organizational challenges, and ensure that the company continues to grow thoughtfully and intentionally.

Before moving into academia and institutional leadership, Lanna Gaye built a career in Jamaican broadcast journalism. She worked in radio news with IRIE FM and later with the RJR Communications Group and Television Jamaica. Her work included presenting, news editing for Western Jamaica, reporting, and contributions to investigative journalism and documentary projects.

That experience taught her to ask difficult questions, find the facts, listen carefully, understand different perspectives, and communicate complicated subjects in a way people can understand.

Her career later expanded into higher education, research, and business intelligence at Caribbean Maritime University. She has taught university students, worked alongside senior academic leadership, contributed to published research, and taken on increasingly significant responsibilities involving institutional research, strategy, and organizational decision making.

At Kellets, Lanna Gaye brings all of those worlds together. She advises Aubrey and the leadership team on business strategy, organizational development, communication, and the client experience. She also provides leadership and guidance around Kellets communications, serving as a liaison between clients, project leadership, and the broader team when needed.

Although much of her role is strategic, she is never afraid to get her hands dirty. When a project needs attention, a client needs clarity, a difficult message needs to be communicated, or an issue needs someone willing to dig into the details and determine what is really happening, Lanna Gaye has a habit of getting involved.

Her approach is still unmistakably that of a journalist and researcher: ask questions, understand the context, separate assumptions from facts, and make sure everyone understands the story.

Her curiosity follows her outside the office as well. At a public arts exhibition in Jamaica, she was once captured deep in conversation about the history and meaning of a Nigerian gelede mask, a fitting glimpse of someone who rarely seems satisfied with simply knowing what something is without also wanting to understand the story behind it.

For Kellets, Lanna Gaye provides something larger than traditional communications support. She is an outside perspective, strategic sounding board, trusted liaison, and experienced business leader who helps the company think more clearly about where it is going and how it communicates along the way.

Her understanding of people translates naturally into the work she does every day. Cheshta helps coordinate the many details that connect a homeowner, a project, the field team, vendors, documentation, scheduling, and the systems Kellets uses to keep projects moving.

At Kellets, she plays an important role in project administration, client follow up, documentation, scheduling, and keeping information organized across the team. Just as importantly, she brings a calm, responsive, positive approach to the work.

Cheshta has become one of those people who quietly makes a surprising number of moving pieces line up. Her willingness to take ownership, figure things out, and keep moving forward has made her an integral connection between the operational side of Kellets and the people we serve.

Her psychology background reinforces something Kellets believes strongly: excellent construction is not only about buildings. It is also about understanding people, expectations, communication, and the experience a homeowner has while the work is being done.

Ben earned his Juris Doctor from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University. His legal training developed a disciplined approach to documentation, contracts, communication, problem solving, and attention to detail, skills that translate naturally to managing complex residential construction projects. His subsequent experience in real estate and property management has given him practical insight into buildings, ownership priorities, vendor coordination, maintenance, and the day to day realities of caring for residential properties.

At Kellets, Ben serves as a central point of coordination between homeowners, trades, vendors, designers, and the field team. He focuses on keeping projects organized, anticipating issues before they become problems, maintaining clear documentation, and ensuring that clients understand what is happening throughout each phase of construction.

For Ben, excellent project management is ultimately about service: listening carefully, communicating clearly, following through on commitments, and protecting the homeowner's time, property, and investment. His combination of analytical discipline and practical property experience strengthens Kellets' commitment to delivering a more organized, transparent, and responsive construction experience for homeowners throughout Westchester County.

Outside of work, Ben has also put cycling toward a meaningful cause. In 2025, he participated in Bike4Chai's 180 mile charity ride and raised more than $11,000 in support of children and families facing serious illness and crisis.