oUR TEAM
ATISHA VARSHNEY, AICP
Founding Principal
Practice Area: Design, Planning, Land Use and Development
With +14 years of interdisciplinary experience in architecture, urban planning, and real estate development, Atisha is an expert in land use and community development. Her recent work focused on multi-family housing development, including affordable housing, mixed-use master plan communities, long-range planning, education institutions and faith communities. In the last five years, her work has contributed to developing 500-plus housing units and other community programs, jobs, and essential amenities.
She is a seasoned development manager representing public agencies on TOD projects and private developers on a variety of project types. She has synergetically managed large teams involving government agencies and real estate developers, community stakeholders, investors, and legal professionals. Atisha has successfully delivered project designs, entitlements, and RFPs, negotiated land transactions, including surplus land, executed pre-development loans and grants, and managed a large team of consultants. She takes an agile and lean approach to project management, working collaboratively with her team and her partners to find high-value solutions.
Atisha is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, American Planning Association, SV@Home, participates on local committees and commissions, and provides probono consulting to local non-profit organizations. Atisha holds a bachelor's in architecture from SPA New Delhi, a master's in landscape architecture from RISD and a certificate in real estate development from SJSU. Atisha is a certified planner( AICP).
Christy Leffall
Senior Associate | Land Use, Planning and Policy
Christy, an urban and regional planning professional with 15+ years of experience in housing and land use planning, has worked as project manager of the Priority Development Area (PDA) Program at ABAG/MTC and acted as a regional planning liaison to jurisdictions in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. As PDA program and grant manager she analyzed transit proximities and housing-unit growth in specific plans, and researched infill development strategies and funding sources. She co-developed the land use analysis used in Plan Bay Area 2050’s Growth Geographies. She has knowledge and experience aligning state affordable housing and infrastructure funding with regional and local level planning priorities. As a county liaison planner, she worked in direct engagement with planning and other governmental staff across multiple jurisdictions. She coordinated regular convening of the Bay Area Planning Director’s Association Meetings and curated an infill development policy TA series, Planning Innovations, for planning staff throughout the 9-county region.
Shreya Chokshi
Associate | Land Use and Development
Shreya, a passionate advocate for affordable housing and vibrant urban spaces, aims to impact people’s lives positively through thoughtful urban development and design. With a strong foundation in design principles from her multi-generational creative family in India, Shreya’s career journey includes roles such as Junior Architect at J Architects and Development Project Manager at Catalyze SV. Her experiences encompass market assessments, project financing, site acquisition, zoning analysis, and construction oversight.
Believing in collaboration and community engagement, Shreya envisions working with communities, policymakers, and stakeholders to create sustainable and livable cities that address affordable housing and urban resilience. Her approach focuses on fostering community engagement, ensuring that development projects benefit all community members, especially the under-served and marginalized. Shreya holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from San Jose State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from India.