A career spent building expertise.
Now working for you.

ADVISOR / FOUNDER

A Marin native and seasoned residential developer, Michael Folk brings 25 years of hands-on expertise and deep knowledge of the local landscape to every client he works with at Canopy Residential Advisory.

“I grew up in Mill Valley, raised a family in Larkspur, and have spent my career developing residential projects across Marin, Sonoma, San Francisco, and the East Bay,” Michael says. “I’ve been the managing principal involved in every phase of the development of more than 200 homes — from finding sites and securing entitlements to assembling design, construction, and marketing teams while managing complex builds through to completion. I understand how this world works from every angle, and I know how valuable it is to have a trusted guide whose only agenda is the client’s.”

That depth of knowledge spans the full arc of the residential process. Michael has presented before county and city planning boards, worked through complex geotechnical and structural challenges, and worked with Marin County’s political leaders on a new residential community in the Ross Valley. He has assembled and managed teams of architects, engineers, contractors, and lenders on projects ranging from ground-up single family homes to major renovation and repositioning of multi-family properties.

“Time and again, I saw homeowners facing some of the most consequential decisions of their lives — a new build, a major remodel, a substantial purchase — without anyone with interdisciplinary understanding truly in their corner,” he explains. “I wanted to be something different: an independent voice with a broad base of expertise.”

That is Canopy’s promise. We work without commission, without referral arrangements, and without preference of outcome. Our only agenda is our client’s.

ADVISOR

Since the early 1990s, Brad has approached real estate from every vantage point: buying, redesigning, self-contracting, and selling his own projects across two decades in San Francisco. By the early 2000s, he launched an independent advisory practice to help clients navigate complex purchases, major remodels, and home reconfigurations. Through every engagement, his role stayed constant: keep the client’s vision at the center, cut through competing opinions, and bring real-world experience across design, development, and project management to every decision.

During this same period, Brad partnered with a general contractor to launch a decade-long joint venture renovating and repositioning residential properties across the Bay Area. That partnership led him to Michael Folk in the mid-2000s, sparking a long-running collaboration on spec development projects throughout Marin County.

Following his GC partnership, Brad stepped into an advisory role for a private San Francisco investor. Acting as the owner’s representative across a portfolio of multi-unit residential developments, his primary focus culminated in managing the complex buildout of a major health clinic as the project's anchor commercial tenant in the Mission/Valencia corridor.

"I’ve worn virtually every hat in this industry—designer, developer, project manager, and owner's representative," Brad says. "Every project teaches you something new. That continuous process of solving complex problems and refining the approach is what gives our clients a clear advantage."

Now based in the Piedmont/Oakland area, Brad brings a pragmatic, multi-lens perspective to every project—a natural extension of the unconflicted advisory model driving Canopy today.

"Michael and I have spent years building projects together, evaluating what works, and refining our process," Brad says. "Clients are not only receiving high-level advice; they’re tapping into decades of hands-on, real-world application."

ADVISOR

Sean Kennings is a land use and environmental planning consultant based in Corte Madera, focusing in Marin, Sonoma, and Napa counties, across the greater Bay Area and throughout California. He advises homeowners, buyers, and design teams on the regulatory side of residential projects: what a site can support, which permits a project will need, and how to move it through local and state review. His work includes residential entitlements and design review, coastal development permits before Marin County and the California Coastal Commission, environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and site analysis involving identifying resources including creek setbacks, sensitive habitats, and agricultural zoning. He also prepares development and constraints assessments for buyers evaluating a property before purchase. For Canopy clients, Sean helps identify regulatory issues early, so that design, budget, and schedule decisions reflect what the jurisdiction is likely to approve.

Sean holds a BA from UC Berkeley and a Masters in Urban Planning from Harvard University.