About Us

About New Classics by Sandy Spring Builders

The Founders:

Richard Mandell, Phil Leibovitz, and Mimi Brodsky Kress
Richard Mandell founded Sandy Spring Builders in 1982 and his homes quickly became known for their details and unique features.  Almost 12 years ago Phil Leibovitz and Mimi Brodsky Kress combined their successful home building company with Mandell to grow Sandy Spring Builders into what it is today. Richard has spent most of the past 30 years building over 300 custom homes for individuals in the metropolitan Washington, DC area.  Phil started in land development and moved into production homebuilding in Virginia and Maryland. He has developed over 1,500 lots and built over 1,000 homes in his 30 years in the industry. Mimi began in homebuilding and then spent ten years in light commercial construction.  She has been involved in hundreds of homes and became well established as a leader in both the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the local Maryland-National Capital Building Industry (MNCBIA) over the years.  Phil and Mimi joined forces in the early 1990's building close to 500 production homes together before they joined Richard in growing New Classics by Sandy Spring Builders to become one of the area’s most well-respected custom home builders.  With Richard, Phil and Mimi each having over 30 years of experience in the homebuilding industry, their knowledge and ability brings exceptional value to every home they build.  They have developed a reputation for excellence amongst clients and architects alike.

The Management Team:

Eric Ross – Chief Operating Officer
Eric joined the Company in October of 2008. Eric has over 20 years of real estate development, finance and capital markets experience. In 2002, Eric co-founded Gary Lee Development, a residential development and investment firm where he placed over $60 million in construction, first mortgage and mezzanine financing and raised over $7.5 million of equity to support a 10 project development pipeline. From 1997-2002 Eric was a Managing Director - Real Estate Capital Markets / Real Estate Investment Banking at Arthur Andersen LLP where he raised over $500 million of debt/equity capital, executed over $600 million M&A assignments, and provided strategic advisory services to private & public real estate companies. From 1992-1997 Eric was Senior Vice President / Director of Asset Management for NHP Incorporated where he was responsible for delivering value-added asset management, workout/restructuring and transaction services to a 135,000 unit (825 assets) multifamily portfolio worth in excess of $3 billion and led and managed a 30-person Asset Management division.

Eric graduated from Boston University with a BS in Business Administration. Married for 16 years, Eric lives with his wife and two children in Rockville, MD.

Joy Lanum – Project Manager
Joy joined the Company in June of 2009 after having been the Company’s dedicated project manager at Haven Homes.  Joy has over 20 years of residential construction and development experience including Pulte Homes (Project Manager) Landmark Communities (Director of Construction) and Toll Brothers (Senior Project Manager) and has had sales, budgeting and project management responsibilities for multiple subdivisions in excess of $50 million.

Joy graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University with a BS in Urban Planning.  In her spare time she enjoys white water rafting, skiing and spending time with family and friends.

David Ambrose – Field Superintendent
David joined the Company in July 2009.  David began his homebuilding career with NV Homes in 1999 as a supervisor in Montgomery County.  He worked his way to becoming a project manager, division costing manager, division land manager and a sales and marketing representative for NVR. 

David grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountain region of Martinsburg, WV and attended Shepherd University to pursue his college education.  David resides in Gaithersburg, Maryland with his wife and 3 children.  He enjoys volunteering in his community and playing golf, softball, exercising and being outdoors.

Seth Mandell – Director of Green Building
Born and raised in Bethesda, MD, Seth grew up immersed in the Sandy Spring Builders custom home industry. At the University of Denver he received a degree in Real Estate and Construction Management through the Daniel’s College of Business.  As a part time then, full-time employee starting in 2007, Seth ran the customer service department, was an estimator and helped to develop estimating and bid tracking systems at Sandy Spring Builders. He later worked in the field as a project manager and client coordinator. After a brief 6 week sabbatical to sail a 56 foot yacht from Portugal to Antigua, Seth joined the New Classics by Sandy Spring Builders team in December 2009 to coordinate its Green Building programs and to assist with estimating, purchasing and customer service.