Leah Beniston

SVP, Entitlements at The True Life Companies

Leah Beniston has been a key member of the Bay Area land team since joining The True Life Companies in October of 2014. During her first two years with the company, she led the entitlement approvals for 5 residential projects in the Bay Area, including approximately 375 units of attached multi-family residential units on transit-oriented, in-fill sites, and 96 single-family detached units. Sine that time she has continued to work on bringing hundreds of new homesites successfully through the approval process, contributing to TTLC's growing record of bringing attainable housing to our metro regions.

With over 26 years of experience in city planning, land entitlement, and project management, Leah draws her knowledge from her diverse background working in land development, oil and gas, water resources, land-water interface permitting and construction management. These areas of expertise included working with both public and private sector organizations and clients to forge public-private partnerships aimed at strengthening communities.

Prior to joining TTLC, Leah was employed with Weston Solutions, Inc., where she worked with clients in the oil and gas industry on water quality compliance, as well as leading a team of experts to win a $1.4 M construction management contract for the San Francisco Emergency Water Transportation Authority. Leah also served as Project Manager for California Maritime Academy in Vallejo, California for their basin, and she led base realignment and closures, developing the network of contacts for brownfield clean-ups and community redevelopment. Formerly with the Planning Department of both the City of Livermore and the City of Burlingame, Leah’s experience in the public sector brings a unique perspective to her role at The True Life Companies, as she builds on a keen understanding of the cities and communities in her region.

Leah is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and lives in the East Bay with her husband and two sons. When not solving entitlement puzzles, she enjoys running, drawing and going on road trips with her family.

Timeline

  • SVP, Entitlements

    Current role