West Coast Leadership Alumni

"My Impact Will Always Be Remembered" 

The WHY statement above is the relentless motivator everyday to impact my client relationships, community members, and most of all my family. I enjoy being a connector within the community and use my platform to elevate people and businesses personally, professionally, and financially. 

My work locally on the Lakeshore is to bring value through creative solutions to everyday "what ifs". These "what if's" traditionally come in the form of planning financially for the future of families and closely held businesses. Instead of just focusing on the numbers, my desire is to understand what money means to you and build an effective plan that allows for clarity, and true financial independence. 

Specialties Include: 

Wealth and Investment Management

Employee Retention Strategies 

Business Succession and Buy-Sell Funding

Education Funding

Retirement Distribution Planning

Life, Disability, and Long Term Care Insurance Planning 

You would also find me facilitating the local Ottawa County Guys Who Give Chapter - a local philanthropic organization designed as a catalyst to give to those in need within the community. 

When I am not face to face with clients, or out in the community my passions are playing hockey and golf and above all to make memories traveling with my beautiful wife Ashley, and sons Smith and Brooks. 

Kara Lepley serves as the Volunteer and Community Engagement Coordinator for Lakeshore Habitat for Humanity in Holland, MI. With a background in church ministry and nonprofit work, Kara finds joy in connecting people and groups to service opportunities that fit their passions and skills. Her favorite part of the ministry of Habitat is the practicality of impacting lives through the building of a home, and the stories that come along the way in getting to know homeowners and volunteers. When not working, Kara can be found reading, at a local sporting event (or watching whatever games are on TV!), or chasing her two young boys around. Kara and her family live in Zeeland, MI.

With 15 years expe­­rience in the Real Estate business across various companies, I learned that to develop a great business I first had to have a good relationship with my community, based on honesty, customer service, and efficiency.

I started my Real Estate career during the market crash in 2007, it was a difficult time, however it taught me invaluable lessons, which have allowed me to help more than 400 families become homeowners.

I knew since the first week of my career as a realtor that I aspired to open my own independent realty company. Now I know that wasn’t the right moment, because to be a principal broker I needed experience, and discipline. 15 years of hard work, dedication, and perseverance later, I successfully opened UBeHome Real Estate, and became the only minority-owned real estate company on the lakeshore.

I was born and raised in West Michigan before moving to Ann Arbor with my wife, Katherine. We both attended Hope College and moved to pursue her medical education at the University of Michigan. In Ann Arbor, I began my career in finance and joined Baughman Capital in 2021 prior to moving back to Holland, where, as a team, we are extremely excited to continue our growth. I earned the Certified Financial Planner™ designation in 2018 and the Chartered Financial Consultant® designation in 2020. Music has played an important role in my life. I've performed for several years with my family band, with local and international artists across the country, and  I was honorably discharged after serving for eight years with the "Governor's Own" Michigan 126 Army Band. 

Fun fact: I've been a two-time state champion old-time fiddler. 

Passions: Music, cooking, travel, hiking. 

Craig is a Senior Project Manager and a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Michigan.  He has dedicated most of his career to private land development projects across West Michigan.  Working to provide infrastructure solutions to meet the unique needs of each client, Craig has over 10 years of experience in commercial, institutional, residential, and industrial site design. His background includes the design and management of projects ranging from small urban sites to complex industrial developments.  Craig holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan Technological University with a minor in Municipal Engineering.

My work focuses on short-term projects for companies that either cannot or do not need to hire a full-time employee. My expertise is in grant management, project administration, and all things government and non-profit.

We all know time is the only thing we can never get back, so we need to invest it wisely.

Specialties include:

Grants administration

Project administration

Affordable housing 

Small businesses (15-200 employees)

Family-owned businesses

Start-ups

Manufacturing environments

Cross-generational environments