ARB Staff
The Architectural Review Board’s knowledgeable and helpful staff are here to guide you through every step of your ARB process. Their extensive education and impressive experience speak volumes of the quality guidance you’ll receive along the way.
Tommy Manuel is the ARB Director. His first experience with Kiawah Island came early in his career as an intern with Samuel Furr Architects after completing his undergraduate studies at Clemson University. He holds a Master of Architecture degree and a Master of Science degree in Urban Planning from Columbia University in the City of New York.
Tommy is a licensed architect in Florida, New York, South Carolina, and is a Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC) through the Passive House Institute US. He previously worked for LOT-EK on a number of projects, most notably the APAP Open School in Anyang, South Korea. At Imrey Culbert, he was part of the design team for Material ConneXion’s headquarters and material library at 60 Madison Avenue in New York. Tommy was also among a team of architects led by Andrew MacNair on the design of the Cappella Ovi, a small ceremonial chapel near Seoul. In Miami, he worked on a range of projects from luxury coastal residences to master-planned communities in the Middle East and South America for Oppenheim Architecture.
Tommy has taught graduate-level design studios at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, architecture history at the American College of the Building Arts (ACBA) in Charleston and been an invited juror at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture Planning and Preservation, the Clemson Architecture Center in Charleston, ACBA, and the University of Tennessee Knoxville. He has written for 32BNY and Zapp Urbanism.
Jennifer Hayes is the Landscape Coordinator for the ARB. She has a Landscape Architecture degree from the University of California as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University. Her professional experience includes site planning,landscape design, and horticulture, as well as international program management and human resources. Jennifer is an active member of the SC Native Plant Society and a Board Member for The Sustainability Institute.
Laura Philpott is the Office and Permit Manager for the ARB. She has a Bachelor of Science in Communication from Kennesaw State University and has administrative experience with road and bridge construction in Atlanta, Georgia. Laura manages ARB permit applications and fields inquiries for properties on the island in an effort to preserve and strengthen the natural beauty of Kiawah. Laura also serves as ARB’s liaison to the Kiawah Island Community Association.
Jane Maybank is a partner in the architecture firm of MG Architects, LLC; a practice with an emphasis on respect for environmental and cultural context in working with private and professional clients on mixed-use, commercial, residential and educational projects. In recent years her work has focused on architectural and land-use strategies to address the unique goals of non-profit, institutional and heritage property clients. She earned a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Virginia with study abroad in Italy; and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York with study at Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons School of Design, and Harvard University. She was awarded a merit scholarship to the Master of Architecture program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has published articles on architecture and design related subjects in Legends, Metropolis Magazine and other publications. She has worked on projects in the United States, Europe, and Japan and has been in private practice in Charleston since 2001. She currently serves on the Board of the Charleston Academy of Music.
Debra Regh has more than 30 years of experience in the disciplines of interior, product and furniture design with several internationally recognized firms. Her work in the interior design field focused on hospitality and institutional projects, and includes the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, and Walt Disney hotels, as well as museums and institutions throughout the United States, Europe and Japan. Her product design projects concentrated on programs for the domestic market, including furniture, textiles, and lighting fixtures. Her work with designers including, Michael Graves, Interior Architects, and Susan Butcher Design are included in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Liberty Science Center, Emory University, the Chickasaw Nation Cultural Center, Steuben Glass, and on the National Mall in Washington, DC. In recent years Debra has returned to her interest in drawing and painting and her work has been included in exhibitions at NYU, Curious Matter, City Without Walls, the Alan Chimacoff Gallery, and USC. She studied at Pratt Institute, Parson’s School of Design, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Kiawah Board
Amanda Mole, AIA is the current Chair for the Board. She holds Bachelor of Science and Masters of Architecture degrees from Georgia Tech with study abroad in Paris. She has experience in commercial and residential architecture, holding architectural licenses in South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Prior to coming to Kiawah in 1999, she designed and managed projects for architectural and interior design firms in Atlanta, with focus on private club design. Amanda also oversees the Cassique, Terrapin Island, and Freshfields Village Architectural Review Boards for Kiawah Partners. She currently practices architecture in the Low Country beyond Kiawah and consults with several residential design review boards.
Howard Pharr is the property owner representative on the Board. As liaison to the community, he represents home, cottage and villa owner interests. Howard and his wife have had a home on Kiawah since 2005. He attended Georgia Tech with studies abroad in Italy and graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture degree, practicing architecture and interior design for 42 years before retiring in 2012. Specializing in hospitality design for 32 of those years, Howard was the President and Managing Partner of the world’s largest hospitality design firm, Hirsch Bedner Associates, creating the interior design for projects in 50+ countries around the world, including the Sanctuary and Ocean Course Clubhouse on Kiawah. Howard is licensed to practice architecture in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.
Mark Permar served as vice president of planning and design for the Kiawah Island Company, the original developers for Kiawah. As such, he was involved in all aspects of planning for Kiawah’s development dating back to 1979, and he has remained as a consultant since KRA’s purchase of the Island in 1988. In addition to his consulting work for KRA and other Coastal communities, Permar advises the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York on architecture and long-range planning. He holds a degree in architecture from the University of Cincinnati and is licensed to practice architecture in the state of Georgia.
Ed Monahan is the KICA representative on the Board. Ed’s family has had a home on Kiawah since 1996. He attended American University in Washington, D.C. Before moving to South Carolina and working for the Kiawah Island Community Association, Ed worked on Wall Street for a Member Firm securities corporation on the Trading Floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Ed began his KICA career in 2007. Within that time, Ed has served on the KICA Safety Committee and the KICA Pride of the Community Committee. He is currently the Director of the KICA Livability Department. This department combines three entities, Covenant Compliance, Safety, and Encroachment. The KICA Livability Department permits and monitors all contracted work performed on Kiawah by contractors, utility companies, and property owners. In this capacity, the KICA Livability Department works closely with the ARB with regards to enforcement of KICA and Kiawah Partners ARB guidelines.
Jane Maybank is a partner in the architecture firm of MG Architects, LLC; a practice with an emphasis on respect for environmental and cultural context in working with private and professional clients on mixed-use, commercial, residential and educational projects. In recent years her work has focused on architectural and land-use strategies to address the unique goals of non-profit, institutional and heritage property clients. She earned a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Virginia with study abroad in Italy; and a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York with study at Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons School of Design, and Harvard University. She was awarded a merit scholarship to the Master of Architecture program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has published articles on architecture and design related subjects in Legends, Metropolis Magazine and other publications. She has worked on projects in the United States, Europe, and Japan and has been in private practice in Charleston since 2001. She currently serves on the Board of the Charleston Academy of Music.
Charlie Arrington is a licensed Landscape Architect who oversees the land planning for Kiawah’s new neighborhoods and amenities. He has worked in golf-course design for over two decades, and serves as Kiawah Partner’s in-house golf course architect. He worked with Tom Fazio on The River Course, Tom Watson on Cassique, and with Greg Norman on Doonbeg Golf Club. He also directed the site landscaping team for The Ocean Course. Over the course of his landscape design career, he has developed recreational facilities as diverse as public parks to large-scale equestrian centers.
Cassique Board
Amanda Mole, AIA is the current Chair for the Board. She holds Bachelor of Science and Masters of Architecture degrees from Georgia Tech with study abroad in Paris. She has experience in commercial and residential architecture, holding architectural licenses in South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Prior to coming to Kiawah in 1999, she designed and managed projects for architectural and interior design firms in Atlanta, with focus on private club design. Amanda also oversees the Kiawah, Terrapin Island, and Freshfields Village Architectural Review Boards for Kiawah Partners. She currently practices architecture in the Low Country beyond Kiawah and consults with several residential design review boards.
Mark Permar served as vice president of planning and design for the Kiawah Island Company, the original developers for Kiawah. As such, he was involved in all aspects of planning for Kiawah’s development dating back to 1979, and he has remained as a consultant since KRA’s purchase of the Island in 1988. In addition to his consulting work for KRA and other Coastal communities, Permar advises the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York on architecture and long-range planning. He holds a degree in architecture from the University of Cincinnati and is licensed to practice architecture in the state of Georgia.
Alexey Grigorieff has been in private practice in Charleston from 2001; he is the other half of architectural design firm MG Architects. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Toronto and a Master of Architecture degree from Princeton University. Prior to venturing out on his own he worked for LS3P in Charleston, Samuel Anderson Architects in New York, and Michael Graves in Princeton.
Charlie Arrington is a licensed Landscape Architect who oversees the land planning for Kiawah’s new neighborhoods and amenities. He has worked in golf-course design for over two decades, and serves as Kiawah Partner’s in-house golf course architect. He worked with Tom Fazio on The River Course, Tom Watson on Cassique, and with Greg Norman on Doonbeg Golf Club. He also directed the site landscaping team for The Ocean Course. Over the course of his landscape design career, he has developed recreational facilities as diverse as public parks to large-scale equestrian centers.
Deb and her husband Jim discovered Kiawah in the spring of 1993. After many return vacations they purchased their first property in Cassique in 2003. In 2014 they started construction on their home and moved in the spring of 2016. She grew up in Pennsylvania, attended Drexel University receiving degrees in Marketing and Management. She spent her career in technology sales and sales leadership. Upon retiring they moved from California to Kiawah.
Terri Kirol was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in Fashion Design and worked as a district manager for The Limited until retiring to raise a family. Terri and her husband first bought property on Kiawah Island in 1997. They have been continuous members of the Kiawah Island Club since that time and moved to Cassique in 2018.