When he’s not building a farm with his own two hands, he’s building a company from the ground up.

Richard Morris is a founding partner of m Strategic Partners and had the idea to create a new type of program management firm - one that is actively engaged in all aspects of a project.

He created m Strategic Partners on the guiding principles of building strong relationships, and surrounded himself with a team of architectural, engineering and contracting experts. Richard firmly believes, “You’re only as good as the talent you have on staff. You’re only as good as your team.”

Although Richard is CEO at m Strategic Partners and a Project Executive, he created his role in the company to have no boundaries. One day he’s doing business development, the next he’s working on the finances, another day he’s out on the job site working with the team.

But in the hours Richard isn’t working or responding to emails, he’ll likely be spending time with his family out on the farm or practicing for his next sporting clay tournament.

Prior to starting m Strategic Partners, Richard worked for more than 30 years in the engineering industry.

When he’s not conducting meetings or walking the job site, you can find Stephen on the golf course (lowering the m Strategic Partners average golf handicap).

As a Project Manager for m Strategic Partners Stephen Cheatham is responsible for quality control throughout a project, managing and driving the schedule, and coordinating with the project owner and the general contractors.

Before Stephen joined the team at m Strategic Partners in early 2016, he worked as a project manager for a local construction company.

With experience in project role of the program manager and contractor, Stephen enjoys the process of seeing projects come to life. He says; “The most interesting part of my job is the overall process and collaborative effort it takes to build a successful project. No one person can do it alone and to see a site go from a greenfield to a functional building or hospital is very rewarding at the end of the day.”

Prior to working in the A/E/C industry, Stephen served in the United States Air Force as a Munitions Systems Journeyman. He was stationed locally at Ellington Field and completed six years of service.

Outside of work, Stephen enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family. As a Houston sports fan, he’s always rooting for the home team whether it’s baseball, football or basketball season.

From Texas to Colombia to California to Angola and back to Texas, Monica joined the m Strategic Partners team in 2014.

As a Financial Analyst, Monica is responsible for project financials, including budget control and forecasting, processing invoices and purchase orders. She gives support to the projects by keeping a constant flow of information between the project owner and the design and construction teams.

Monica enjoys seeing the entire development of a project and working with m Strategic Partners because she believes it truly is a team effort. She says, “Richard and Jaaron know how to lead the team to the final goal, always focusing on the solutions and moving forward.”

Prior to joining m Strategic Partners, Monica worked in the design and construction industry in California and Colombia. Monica attended university in Colombia where she earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s degree in strategic management.

When she’s not at the office, Monica spends time with her husband and two children. Having lived all across the globe, Monica has a passion for traveling. She loves being outside and exploring new cities by foot.

Charles can call the job site his home-away-from-home, as he’s nearly working there full-time these days.

As a Project Coordinator for m Strategic Partners, Charles is busy overseeing the day-to-day operations of a project. Charles assists with project costs, budgeting, and scheduling. He sets up meetings with the construction team and consultants to discuss phases of the projects.

Charles enjoys being on the construction site because he’s able to get updates from the work teams and know the sequence of events of the project. He says, “Walking the site day-to-day and knowing where they’re at in the construction process helps us better understand real-time project finances and status of work in place.”

When he’s off site and off the clock, Charles spends his time with his wife and son, and is still on top of homework deadlines. Charles is currently in school working toward a bachelor’s degree in Construction Management and is on track to graduate in the beginning of 2018.

Prior to joining m Strategic Partners, Charles served in the United States Army with seven years’ active duty as an Airborne Ranger at 3rd Ranger Battalion.

She’s not your average Marketing Coordinator – she can fly. 

As the m Strategic Partners Marketing Coordinator and Chief Pilot, Julie Blanco has a wide range of responsibilities. On the marketing side, she creates all SOQ/RFP submittals, maintains the mSP website, social media and newsletters, manages company/project events – like our Cars and Clays Sporting Clay Shoot, and organizes the community outreach activities.

As the Chief Pilot, Julie is responsible for the m Strategic Partners Drone Services. A Federal Aviation Administration licensed Sport Pilot and sUAS Remote Pilot, Julie flies the mSP drone to capture project photos and videos of all phases of a building program. With safety as a top priority, she carefully plans all sUAS flights and keeps mSP up-to-date on all FAA drone legislation 

Julie joined the team in August 2015 and has since been a driving force for m Strategic Partners. 

“Being a part of the mSP team creates so many opportunities for us to get involved in projects and gain new experience” she says. “I started here to do marketing, was given the opportunity to become a pilot, and have developed so much professionally and personally - all thanks to the opportunities from mSP.”

Julie is a Fightin’ Texas Aggie with a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Journalism. A former collegiate runner, she still tries to log some weekly miles in between finding the next great recipe to make, working on her golf swing, or learning to play the ukulele.

She wasn’t born in Texas, but she got here as quick as she could.

Hailing from Emmet, Nebraska, Oasis Wentworth joined m Strategic Partners in July 2016.

A Project Coordinator, Oasis focuses her efforts on contributing to the design and construction of major healthcare projects where she is responsible for facilitating design and construction meetings, managing document control and coordinating with team consultants for reviews and inspections.

With a passion for design and an interest in the world of construction, Oasis was drawn to the A/E/C industry. She says, “not only is it inspiring to see the stages of a project go from a greenfield to a functioning facility, but it’s great to know the communities will benefit from the healthcare projects.”

After transferring from the University of Nebraska, Oasis completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture with minors in Facility Management and Business at Texas A&M University.

When she’s not facilitating project document control or meetings, or walking the job site, Oasis is likely planning her next travel itinerary, refurbishing old furniture, or spending time with her family. Fun fact: Oasis comes from a big family – she is the fifth of 11 children.

Green building, permaculture, resilience – the interests of m Strategic Partners’ resident green enthusiast Kim Sullivan.

As a project consultant, Kim provides insight to design and construction challenges through the course of a project. She helps lead the the project to effective and efficient design approaches.

With a degree in architectural engineering, Kim was initially drawn to the the design and construction industry from her interest of combining the creativity of architecture with the math base of engineering.

Before joining the team at m Strategic Partners, Kim worked in the world of healthcare engineering at a national engineering firm and later did government sustainability work.

From best practices to building and design codes, Kim enjoys the challenge of bringing all of the project aspects together. Kim says, “I find it rewarding to help facilitate projects in all stages of programming, design and construction.”

Since moving from Texas to Colorado, Kim also enjoys the challenge of gardening in a state with real seasons. Oftentimes, you can find Kim hiking through The Centennial State, finding a new recipe to make or planning the travel agenda for her next family vacation.

After starting his career working on oil rigs in the Gulf, Sean Foster has planted his roots on dry land and focused his efforts on Program Management.

Sean joined the team at m Strategic Partners in August 2017. A Project Coordinator, Sean is busy overseeing the day-to-day construction activities of a project. He assists with project logistics, scheduling and budgeting, and is on-site every day with a great understanding of all the project details.

With a background as an experienced Journeyman Electrician and Steward, Sean has an appreciation for the complexity of the role of project manager. He says, “As an electrician, you do your one job on a project and make it look good. But as the program manager that coordinates all of the moving parts of a project, it’s our responsibility to make sure all the project teams are able to do their jobs.”

Sean has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Science from University of Houston, and is a fourth generation electrician.

Outside of work you can always catch Sean rooting for his favorite Houston sports teams (Go ‘Stros!). He likes to spend his time outside playing golf, baseball or softball. Fun fact: Sean played in the 1996 Little League World Series. But, when he’s not thinking about sports, Sean is following his love of music by searching for his next favorite artist, or spending time with his wife and young daughter.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Melissa didn’t have to look far to become an m Strategic Partners team member. 

With a 15-year background working in the oil and gas industry, Melissa Kirkpatrick joined m Strategic Partners in October 2016 and quickly became a significant part of the team.

As the Office Coordinator, Melissa has become the heart of the office – keeping everyone and everything running. One day she’s keeping up with Richard’s schedule, the next she’s troubleshooting for projects at the office, another she’s helping with financials. Whatever it takes to keep everyone running efficiently.

“As office coordinator it’s my job to take care of the team at m Strategic Partners,” she says. “I’m here to make sure they have the top-level support they need to continue producing the highest quality projects.”

In her time outside of the office, you can often find Melissa curled up with a book or watching a documentary. But, with a passion for music and a love of live entertainment, Melissa regularly visits the live music capital of the world – Austin, Texas – to scope out the next big artist, and even enjoys an evening spent laughing at the local comedy club.

With more than 30 years of experience in the A/E/C industry, Richard brought special projects experience to the mSP team to compliment the mSP large project resume.

Richard Mapes joined m Strategic Partners in October 2016 and has been going full speed from day one. As a Project Manager, Richard has brought with him his vast expertise in working with facility capital and infrastructure upgrade projects. This work includes a wide spectrum of project types, from air handler and emergency generator replacements to MRI or Cath Lab room renovations, all in active working healthcare facilities.

Although he has many projects going on simultaneously, Richard takes ownership of every project and works to build a relationship with each project team and hospital leadership team. He is a firm believer in creating trust with everyone on the project to create a project community.

With responsibilities that range from contracts and project financials to construction and schedule management, Richard says everything that happens for the project is as important to him as it is to the rest of the project team.

Prior to joining m Strategic Partners, Richard built a career working in contract administration and facility capital projects. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture. Richard served in the United States Army from 1971 to 1974 in the Army Security Agency and was stationed in Germany.

When he is not focused on mSP projects, Richard loves to just spend his time relaxing with his wife of 34 years.

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At m Strategic Partners we are always accepting resumes for new talent to join our team. We look for candidates who are team players, enjoy being engaged in the community, and share our passion and energy to deliver exciting projects. To submit your resume for a position, email us at info@mstrategicpartners.com.