GWENDOLEN G. NOYES

Senior Vice President & COO

Gwen Noyes has been a partner of Oaktree Development and its predecessor, Unihab Inc, since 1973, when Arthur Klipfel and she founded Unihab. Her work in these multi-family housing development companies has been focused to date in Cambridge and several metropolitan Boston cities. Trained as an architect, she has been the designer and partner in charge of many complete renovations and new communities totaling several hundred units. Frequently working in neighborhoods that are apprehensive or resistant to change, Ms Noyes has gained substantial experience in successfully permitting Oaktree’s projects. She helps neighborhoods to envision the contribution that an Oaktree community will bring. She also led in the sociologically complex formation and development of the Cambridge Co-housing community, an award winning, and nationally acclaimed example of environmentally responsible design. Gwen and her husband, Arthur Klipfel, live in this community.

Ms Noyes has a Master of Architecture degree (honors) from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College. She has lived and worked in Cambridge, MA for thirty eight years, though she enjoyed brief working stints in Japan, Denmark, and NYC. She has traveled extensively and served as an officer and President of the Board for the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. She has also served as a founding trustee on the City of Cambridge’s Affordable Housing Trust, and is a member of Cambridge Friends' Meeting (Quaker), where she heads the EarthCare Witness Committee. Growing up on an organic farm in Illinois provided the 'germ' for Gwen's concern for the environment, and has long found expression in the design of energy efficient, transit oriented, high-quality, multifamily housing that fosters a sense of community.